•aBHBHBffMPffl      ; 

I  CECIL  I 

*•''''!"'*       ! 
lllKJittMii 


HORACE  A.  SCOn 

2208  North  Ross  Street 

Santa  Ana,  California 


'£ 

N 
K 
'JJ 

* 

CJ 


w 
o 
cr 

> 

I 

fi 

-t 
- 


FOUR  BOOKS  IN  ONE  VOLUME 


SOUTH  AFRICA 


BY 

PROFESSOR  W.  DOUGLAS  MACKENZIE,  D.  D. 

OF   CHICAGO 

AUTHOR  OF 
'CHRISTIANITY  AND  THE   PROGRESS    OF  MAN,"   "THE  ETHICS   OF   GAMBLING,"  ETC. 

ASSISTED    BY 

ALFRED   STEAD 

LONDON,  ENGLAND 

SUPERBLY    ILLUSTRATED 

WITH 

ORIGINAL  DRAWINGS  AND  PHOTOGRAPHS 

UNDER  DIRECTION  OF  GEORGE  SPIEL 


AMERICAN  BOOK  AND  BIBLE  HOUSE, 
PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


COPYRIGHT  1899, 
BY  GBORGE  SPIEI« 


5145223 


PREFATORY    INTRODUCTION. 


IT  HAS  often  been  said  that  there  is  no  teacher  of  geography  so 
interesting  and  so  thorough  as  war.  Americans,  for  example,  hardly 

knew  anything  more  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  their  inhabitants, 
and  their  political  associations,  than  that  such  islands  existed  in  a 
colonial  relation  to  Spain.  But  alike  the  geography  and  the  history 
of  those  islands  have  been  studied  with  intense  interest  by  scores  of 
thousands  of  all  classes  in  America  during  the  last  eighteen  months. 
The  new  relations  in  which  America  found  herself  so  suddenly  involved 
with  the  West  and  the  East  Indies  led  many  of  her  citizens  to  face  the 
general  history  of  colonization,  and  especially  to  investigate  the  extra- 
ordinary place  which  colonization  has  occupied  in  the  development  of 
British  commerce  and  influence  throughout  the  whole  world  during  the 
last  hundred  years.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  a  large  number  of 
Americans  have  come  to  understand  the  growth  of  the  British  Empire 
more  sympathetically  since  they  were  led  to  see  in  their  own  case  how  a 
great  people  could  be  impelled  on  her  historic  development  by  circum- 
stances and  forces  seemingly  beyond  her  resistance.  The  shallow  notion 
that  Great  Britain  has  conquered  territory  all  over  the  world  merely 
through  greed,  and  cruelty,  and  oppression,  is  rapidly  being  relegated 
to  the  limbo  already  so  well  occupied  of  popular  prejudices  and  inter- 
national misunderstandings. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  still  larger  number  of  the  inhabitants  of 
North  America  have  been  drawn,  this  winter,  to  a  still  closer  study  of 
the  growth  and  spirit  of  the  British  Empire  through  the  occurrence  of 
this  deplorable  and  disastrous  war  in  South  Africa.  The  demand  is  very 
•great  indeed  for  information  regarding  the  history,  the  geography,  the 
inhabitants  of  that  country.  People  wish  to  know  who  the  Boers  are, 
when  they  arrived  in  Africa,  what  kind  of  people  they  found  there,  and 
the  history  of  those  people  since  the  invasion  of  the  country  by  Euro- 


8  t  PREFATORY  INTRODUCTION. 

peans.  Especially  do  persons  desire  to  know  the  history  of  Cape  Colony 
while  it  was  under  the  Dutch  government,  how  it  became  the  property  of 
Great  Britain,  part  of  the  British  Empire,  how  it  is  that  so  many  wars 
have  occurred  in  that  region  between  the  Boers  and  the  natives,  the 
British  and  the  natives,  and  the  Boers  and  the  British.  There  have  not 
been  wars  so  frequent  or  so  disastrous,  even  in  India,  during  the  last 
seventy-five  years,  as  in  South  Africa.  There  have  not  been  race  quar- 
rels in  Canada  during  this  century  like  those  in  South  Africa.  No- 
where else  have  whole  bodies  of  Europeans  sought  to  escape  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  any  British  colony  or  dominion  in  which  they  were  born 
and  brought  up,  save  only,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  Ireland.  People  wish 
to  know  who  have  been  the  prominent  figures  of  South  African  history. 
They  know  vaguely  that  it  has  been  the  scene  of  great  exploration, 
exciting  adventures  with  wild  beasts,  prolonged  and  most  earnest  mis- 
sionarf  labor.  They  know  that  in  recent  years  South  Africa  has  sud- 
denly revealed  her  possession  of  enormous  treasures  in  precious  metals 
and  precious  stones.  All  these  facts  have  had  their  own  influence  upon 
the  racial  problems  which  have  been  so  intense  as  to  appeal  to  the 
terrible  arbitrament  of  war  for  their  settlement. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  book  to  present  to  the  reader  a.  general 
account  of  this  region,  such  an  account  as  shall  enable  him  to  form  a 
fairly  full  and  clear  idea  of  the  land  where  this  most  fierce  and  ruthless 
war  is  raging.  An  effort  has,  therefore,  been  made,  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, within  the  space  allowed,  to  throw  some  light  upon  everything 
that  may  help  to  interest  the  reader  in  that  country,  to  explain  to  him 
its  problems,  account  for  and  describe  its  wars.  The  book  professes 
to  be  a  conspectus  of  South  African  history,  heroes  and  racial  struggles. 
The  best  authorities  available  have  been  consulted.  The  works  of 
missionaries,  travelers,  historians,  politicians,  and  the  Blue  Books  of  the 
British  Parliament  have  been  consulted.  The  author  and  his  assistant 
have  both  very  deep  personal  interest  in  South  Africa  and  a  familiarity 
with  its  history  derived  from  years  of  reading  and  discussion  there- 
upon. 

The  general  standpoint  aimed  at  is  that  of  a  fair,  frank  and  unpreju- 
diced description  of  all  matters  bearing  upon  South  Africa,  and  espe- 
cially those  that  illuminate  the  meaning  of  this  war  of  1899-1900.  No 


PREFATORY   INTRODUCTION.  9 

man  can  profess,  on  any  great  matter,  to  be  absolutely  impartial.  But 
every  man  ought  to  strive  Tor  fairness  and  justice.  In  this  book,  a 
serious  attempt  is  made  to  present  both  sides  of  every  great  discussion 
that  has  arisen  in  South  African  history,  especially  between  the  British 
and  the  Boers.  It  will  be  seen,  in  the  following  pages,  that  sometimes 
the  Boers  have  had  the  most  of  right  on  their  side,  and  sometimes  the 
British.  As  to  which  side,  on  the  whole,  has  manifested  the  nobler 
spirit  and  deserved  the  more  lenient  judgment  or  the  warmer  sympathy 
of  all  intelligent  and  humane  onlookers  a,nd  students,  this  is  not  the 
place  to  attempt  an  opinion.  The  honest  and  earnest  attempt  to  tell 
the  truth,  whatever  conclusion  regarding  the  merits  of  this  dispute  that 
truth  may  force  upon  us,  is  claimed  for  the  substance  and  tone  of  the 
following  pages. 

Chicago,  January,  1900.  W.  D.  M. 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER 

Photo,  by  Duffus  Brothers,  Johannesburg. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES 

Said  to  have  been  "taken  growling  before  breakfast,  but  very  characteristic. 
Photo,  by  S.  B.  Barnard,  Cape  Town. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK   I. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 


PART   I. 

GENERAL  SKETCH   OF  THE  STATES   AND   RACES   OF 
SOUTH   AFRICA. 


CHAPTER   I. 

Page 

The  Geography  and  Climate  of  South  Africa 23 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Dutch  Occupation,  1650-1806 37 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Colony  of  Natal 41 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Orange  Free  State. 48 

CHAPTER  V. 
Zululand , TO 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Basutoland 91 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Bechuanaland 99 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Rhodesia 108 

13 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Page 

Cape  Colony,  1814-1900 ^ 126 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC 139-199 

Section  1.  The  Earlier  History-  of  the  Transvaal 130 

Section  2.  The  Transvaal,  1864-1877 144 

Section  3.  Characteristics  of  the  Boers „ 151 

Section  4.  The  Transvaal  Government  and  Native  Races 161 

Section  5.  The  Annexation  of  the  Transvaal , 169 

Section  6.  Through  Imperial  iTule  to  Independence 166 

Section  7.  The  Constitution  of  the  Two  Republics 190 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Native  Races 200-211 

Section  1.     Gariepiue  Races 201 

Section  2.     The  Bantu  Race  . .  / 204 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Animals  of  South  Africa 215 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
The  Chief  Industries  of  South  Africa. ,  .  231 


PART  II. 

FAMOUS   MEN   AND   LEADING  TOWNS  OF  SOUTH   AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 
POLITICAL  WORKERS 239-284 

Section  1.     Earl  drey   239 

Section  2.     Dr.  Jameson  241 

Section  3.     General  Joubert ,••-,, ,...,,..,.,.  250 


CONTENTS.  15 

Page 

Section  4.     Sir  Hercules  Robinson 257 

Section  5.     Olive  Schreiner 266 

Section  6.     Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone 269 

Section  7.     Hon.  W.  P.  Schreiner 273 

Section  8.     Sir  Jno.  G.  Sprigg 276 

Section  9.     President  Steyn 278 

CHAPTER  II. 
Khama,  Chief  of  the  Bamangwatos '. 284 

CHAPTER  III. 
CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES 302-355 

Section  1.     The  Influence  of  Missions 302 

Section  2.     Robt.  Moffat  . . . .  ~ 307 

Section  3.     David  Livingstone 315 

Section  4.     John  Mackenzie 328 

Section  5.    Francois  Coillard 355 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Cape  Town 358 

CHAPTER  V. 
Johannesburg • 363 

CHAPTER  VI. 

* 

Kimberley  and  the  Diamond  Mines 368 

CHAPTER  VII. 
OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS 378-394 

Section  1.  Bloemfontein , 378 

Section  2.  Buluwayo 380 

Section  3.  Durban 383 

Section  4.  Grahamstown 387 

Section  5.  Port  Elizabeth 391 

Section  6.  Pretoria .  394 


16  CONTENTS. 

BOOK  II. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES,  CAPITALIST  AND  POLITICIAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

Introductory 401 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Earlier  Life  of  Mr.  Rhodes : 404 

CHAPTER    III. 
His  Early  Political  Life 416 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Mr.  Rhodes  and  the  British  South  Africa  Chartered  Co 427 

CHAPTER  V. 
Mr.  Rhodes  as  Prime  Minister 439 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Mr.  Rhodes  and  the  Jameson  Raid 446 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Mr.  Rhodes  Since  the  Raid 459 


BOOK  III. 


STEPHANUS  JOHANNES   PAULUS  KRUGER. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Earlier  Life  of  Mr.  Kruger 469 


CONTENTS.  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Page 

Mr.  Kruger  and  Transvaal  Politics 475 

CHAPTER    III. 

• 

Mr.  Kruger  and  the  War  of  Independence 484 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Mr.  Kruger's  First  Presidency 490 

CHAPTER  V. 
President  Kruger  and  the  Outlanders . . . 496 

CHAPTER  VI. 

President  Kruger  and  the  Raid 511 

President  Kruger's  Last  Stand 517 


BOOK    IV. 

THE  BRITISH   BOER  WAR— 1899-1900. 


PART   I. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Transvaal  and  South  Bechuanaland 525 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  London  Convention,  1884 531 

CHAPTER   III. 
The  Settlement  of  South  Bechuanaland. ,  .  544 


18  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Page 

The  Outlanders  of  the  Transvaal .' 551 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Story  of  the  Jameson  Raid 557 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Colonial  Office  and  the  Raid : 577 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Transvaal  After  the  Raid •. 582 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Afrikander  Bond  and  the  Presidents'  Hope 590 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Diplomacy  and  the  Ultimatum 608 

Summarv  of  the  Causes  of  the  War .  .  .   623 


PART    II. 

THE  PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Invasion  of  Natal .' 627 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Invasion  of  Cape  Colony 650 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 

Hoisting  the  British  Flag  in  South 
Africa  by  Dr.  Jno.  Mackenzie,  the 
Author's  Father. Frontispiece 

David  Livingstone  and  John  Mackenzie 
Frontispiece 

President  Kruger 11 

Cecil  J.  Rhodes 12 

Cape   Town 21 

House  of  Parliament  in  Cape  Town 22 

A  Pretty  Suburb  of  Cape  Town 31 

Hon.  W.  P.  Schreiner 32 

Sir  Alfred  Milner 32 

Soldiers'   Monument 33 

A  Queen's  Memorial 34 

Pietermaritzburg,  Capital  of  Natal 43 

Chief  Teteluki,  Natal 44 

Sir  W.  Hely  Hutchinson 53 

Conyngham  Greene,  C.  B 53 

Sir  J.  Gordon  Sprigg 53 

J.  H.  Hofmeyer x 53 

Soldiers'    Graves 54 

A  Pineapple  Field ...  55 

Going  to  Market 56 

Boers  Outspanned 65 

A  Traveler's  Difficulty 66 

Zulu   Kraal 83 

Zulu  Ladies'  Reception 84 

Dagga  Smokers 101 

A  Native  Wizard ... 102 

A  Zulu  Military  Review 119 


Page 
Zulus  Defying  the  Lightning 120 

A  Family  Group ". 137 

Inside  the  House 138 

Zulu  Warriors 155 

/ 

Zulu  Warriors  Uncivilized 156 

Zulu  Warriors  Civilized 156 

Sifting  Gravel  for  Diamonds 173 

DeBeers   Compound 174 

Chief's  Kraal,  Zululand 191 

Native   Kraal 192 

Building  a  Homestead 209 

Waiting  for  the  Vultures , 210 

The  Tugela  River 227 

Mica  Deposit  in  a  Donga 227 

Natives  of  Amatongaland 228 

Olive   Schreiner 245 

Dr.  Jameson 246 

Barney  Barnato 246 

Muster  of  Town  Burghers  at  Pretoria.  .246 

Majuba    Hill 263 

Going  to  Work 264 

Going  Home  from  the  Mines 281 

Diamond  Field  Claims  in   1869 282 

Ostrich   Farming 282 

Native   Miners 299 

Native  Compound 300 

Old     Workings  —  Kimberley     Diamond 
Mines    317 

Durban— Main    Street..  ..318 


19 


20 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS, 


Page 
Durban— Road  to  Berea 318 

Charging  the  Boers'  Laager 335 

The  Middle  Mugan  River— Natal 335 

A  Street  in  Johannesburg 336 

Civil  Prisoners  Entering  Pretoria 353 

General  View  of  Johannesburg 354 

Gold  Mines  at  Johannesburg 371 

Wrecking  an  Armored  Train 372 

The  Charge  of  the  Lancers 389 

A  Boer  Scout 390 

Wounded  Boer  Prisoners 407 

A  Warm  Day  at  Ladysmith 408 

Front  Door  of  Mr.  Rhodes'  House 425 

Mr.  Rhodes'  Library 426 

The  Home  of  Cecil  Rhodes 443 

Mr.  Rhodes'  Farm 444 

General  Jan  Koch's  State  Funeral 461 

Pretoria   Commando   Leaving  for   Ser- 
vice   . . .' 462 

General  Joubert  Ready  for  War 479 

General    Joubert   Ready   for  the   Plat- 
form   479 

Dr.  Leyds 480 

General  Piet  Cronje 480 

President  Steyn 480 

Lord  Roberts Face  528 

General  Kitchener..  .    "     528 


Page 
General   White Face  529 

General    Buller "  529 

Gen.  Sir  A.  Hunter "  544 

Gen.  Sir  Cornelius  F.  Clery "  544 

Maj-Gen.  Sir  Wm.  Gatacre "  544 

Lt.-Gen.    Sir   F.    W.    E.    Forestier 

Walker   "  544 

General   Methuen "  545 

Col.   Baden-Powell "  545 

Lt.-Col.  Otter  and  Officers "  560 

Lady  Minto "  561 

Lt.-Col.   Otter "  561 

Highlanders    "  576 

The  First  Canadian  Contingent  in 

Street  Parade "  577 

Group  of  Canadian  Officers "  592 

First     Canadian      Contingent     at 

Toronto    "  593 

Group  of  Artillery  Officers "  608 

Farewell    Manitoba '•  609 

Boers  in  the  Trenches "  624 

General  Warren "  625 

General   French "  625 

A  Wagon  Breakdown "  625 

The  Battle  of  Spion  Kop "  640 

Hauling  the  Guns  Up  Coles  Kop. .  "  641 


o   50 

H     -2"* 


BI    ~~" 


»•"< 


o 

H 

a 


2 

25 

U 


0 


«     2s 

§     "% 
S     9- 

B    85  j 

3« 


BOOK  -I. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 


PART   I. 

GENERAL    SKETCH   OF  THE   STATES   AND    RACES  OF 

SOUTH   AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  GEOGRAPHY  AND  CLIMATE  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

SOUTH  AFRICA,  or,  as  it  has  been  sometimes  called,  Austral 
Africa,  is  the  term  given  to  that  portion  of  the  continent  of  Africa 
which  lies  south  of  the  Zambesi  River,  on  the  eastern  coast,  and  a 
point  at  or  about  the  port  of  St.  Paul  de  Loanda  on  the  western  coast. 
The  whole  region  is  roughly  shaped  like  a  triangle,  with  the  apex  point- 
ing south  and  somewhat  blunted.  One  of  the  most  remarkable  things 
about  South  Africa  is  the  monotony  of  its  coast-line  which  affords  very 
few  safe  harbors,  and  no  rivers  that  are  navigable  for  any  distance 
inland.  This  fact  has  undoubtedly  much  to  do  with  the  slow  develop- 
ment of  this  region,  for  travelers  and  explorers  have  been  compelled 
to  make  their  land  journey  from  the  very  coast  by  ox  wagons.  Until 
within  a  few  years  only  three  or  four  ports  have  been  much  used,  and 
from  these  ports  nearly  all  the  development  of  the  entire  region  has 
taken  place. 

It  is  true  that  on  the  west  side  there  is  one  fine  harbor,  known  as 
Walfisch  Bay.  This  bay  and  a  portion  of  the  land  round  it,  consisting 
of  about  800  square  miles,  was  nearly  twenty  years  ago  proclaimed  as 
British  territory  and  annexed  to  the  Cape  Colony.  But,  while  the  harbor 
is  good,  it  is  as  yet  practically  valueless  on  account  of  the  dreary  nature 
of  the  country  lying  behind  it.  For  many,  many  miles  it  consists 

23 


24  GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE   OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

exclusively  x>f  barren  hills  and  sandy  plains,  with  only  here  and  there 
a  small  oasis  or  a  river  channel  which  contains  water  only  after  the 
fall  of  rain.  Some  day  it  may  be  that  this  harbor  will  be  of  great  value, 
when  a  railway,  which  was  proposed  more  than  ten  years  ago,  runs  from 
this  point  across  the  desert  into  Bechuanaland. 

The  next  break  in  the  coastline  is  found  at  the  mouth  of  the  Orange 
TCiver.  While  this  is  the  largest  river  in  South  Africa  the  estuary  is 
barred  by  sandy  banks  and  thereby  rendered  useless  for  shipping.  Fifty 
miles  further  south  is  Port  Nolloth,  a  small  harbor  from  which  cargoes 
of  copper  found  in  Namaqualand  are  shipped  to  Europe.  Thence  we 
come  to  St.  Helena  Bay,  whieh  is  30  miles  across,  but  as  yet  con- 
nected with  no  inland  industry  and  therefore  of  no  importance,  and 
Saldanha  Bay,  which,  while  a  fine  natural  harbor  and  the  best  on  this 
coast,  is  also  rendered  valueless  by  being  far  removed  from  any  town 
or  sources  of  production.  At  the  extreme  southwest  corner  we  come 
upon  Cape  Agulhas;  from  that  it  is  but  a  short  run  to  Table  Bay,  on 
which  Cape  Town  is  placed,  and  False  Bay.  The  former  has  been  made 
comparatively  safe  for  shipping  by  means  of  breakwaters,  but  with  a 
northwest  wind  the  anchorage  is  still  precarious.  The  much  larger  bay, 
known  as  False  Bay,  contains  within  it  a  still  smaller  one  known  as 
Simons  Bay,  which  is  thoroughly  well  protected  and  has  been  for  many 
years  the  Imperial  naval  station.  It  is  of  the  utmost  value  to  the 
British  Empire  alike  for  its  safety  and  its  importance  as  a  coaling 
station. 

The  southern  coast  has  only  a  few  small  indentations  and  useless 
river  mouths.  The  harbor  at  the  outlet  of  the  Knysna  Kiver  is  available 
for  small  ships,  which  must  find  their  way  over  a  double  bar  ere  they 
can  reach  security.  At  the  southeast  corner  of  the  continent  lies  the 
well  known  Algoa  Bay,  which  is  35  miles  across  from  point  to  point. 
On  this  bay  stands  the  prosperous  town  of  Port  Elizabeth,  which  is  the 
chief  shippin-g  place  for  the  entire  eastern  province  of  Cape  Colony  and 
has  in  recent  years  run  a  race  with  Cape  Town  for  commercial  leader- 
ship in  South  Africa.  It  has  the  advantage  of  being  the  central  landing 
place  for  Cape  Colony,  lying  as  it  does  about  midway  between  Cape 
Town  and  Durban.  It  is  now  connected  by  railway  with  the  important 
regions  north  and  northwest  and  proposals  are  made  for  a  railway  along 


GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE   OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  25 

the  coast  which  will  still  further  add  to  its  prosperity  by  encouraging 
industries  in  regions  hitherto  practically  isolated  from  the  commercial 
world.  Algoa  Bay,  while  now  somewhat  improved,  used  to  be  a  most 
dangerous  anchorage  owing  to  its  exposure  to  the  terrific  force  of  the 
southeast  winds.  Storms  from  this  direction  have  sometimes  in  a  single 

o 

night  thrown  many  vessels  upon  the  shore.  Beyond  this  point  we  have 
Port  Alfred,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kowie  River,  and  having  trade  con- 
nections with  the  Grahamstown  district.  Beyond  that  again  we  reach 
East  London,  the  third  seaport  in  Cape  Colony.  The  sandy  bar  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Buffalo  River  has  been,  with  considerable  enterprise, 
dredged  and  the  channel  deepened  to  allow  vessels  of  a  considerable 
size  to  reach  the  harbor.  It  is  connected  with  Queenstown  by  a  railway, 
which  thence  passes  on  through  the  Orange  Free  State  and  thus  reaches 
the  Transvaal.  The  land  journey  from  this  point  to  the  gold  fields  is 
much  shorter  than  either  from  Port  Elizabeth  or  Cape  Town. 

Passing  Port  St.  John  at  the  mouth  of  the  Umzimvubu  River  we 
come  to  the  coast  line  of  the  important  colony  of  Natal.  Natal  has  only 
one  harbor  of  importance,  formerly  known  as  Port  Natal,  but  for  many 
years  as  Durban.  The  bay  is  shallow  throughout,  with  an  area  of  7  or  8 
square  miles.  It  has  been  well  dredged  and  the  entrance  has  been  nar- 
rowed by  means  of  breakwaters  so  as  to  measure  only  about  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  across.  On  the  south  side  of  the  entrance  is  the  bluff,  over  200 
feet  high.  The  town  itself  is  the  largest  in  this  colony  and  is  situated  on 
the  north  side  of  the  bay.  It  is  overlooked  by  the  beautiful  Berea  Hill, 
on  whose  slopes  are  built  most  handsome  and  picturesque  residences. 
The  name  is  derived  from  a  mission  station  which  in  former  days  was 
situated  here.  Beyond  this  the  only  important  break  consists  in  the 
strange  shaped  lake  of  St.  Lucia  and  the  mouth  of  the  Kosi  River.  As 
yet  the  former  is  too  shallow  to  be  of  much  use  for  shipping,  although 
the  day  may  come  when  capital  and  skill  may  turn  some  portion  of  this 
lake  into  the  finest  harbor  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa.  Beyond  these 
again  there  lies  the  well  known  Delagoa  Bay,  wThich  has  as  its  central 
port  the  Portuguese  settlement  known  as  Lorenzo  Marques.  This  place  is 
connected  by  submarine  cable  with  Aden  in  the  north  and  with  Durban 
to  the  south.  It  is  the  nearest  harbor  to  the  Transvaal,  whose  border  is 
only  57  miles  westwards,  is  situated  in  the  territory  of  Portuguese  East 


26  GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE   OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

Africa,  and  lias  attained  great  importance  in  recent  years  through  the 
very  large  increase  of  shipping  caused  by  the  development  of  the  Trans- 
vaal gold  mines  and  the  building  of  an  important  railway  between  Pre- 
toria and  Lorenzo  Marques.  For  a  number  of  years  Great  Britain  has 
had  a  treaty  with  Portugal  affording  the  former  the  right  of  pre-emption 
of  Delagoa  Bay,  and  it  has  long  been  the  opinion  of  South  African  states- 
men that  at  some  no  distant  date  that  most  important  point  must,  for 
the  development  of  a  vast  portion  of  Austral  Africa,  indeed  for  the  good 
of  the  entire  country,  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  Delagoa  Bay  is 
12  miles  wide,  over  50  feet  deep  at  the  entrance,  and  affords  well  shel- 
tered anchorage  for  the  largest  vessels.  Hitherto  the  development  of 
Delagoa  Bay  has  been  much  hindered  on  the  one  hand  by  the  incapacity 
and  corruption  of  the  local  Portuguese  officials,  and  on  the  other  hand 
by  the  extremely  heavy  charges  upon  goods  carried  from  this  point  to 
Pretoria  by  railway. 

When  we  come  to  study  South  Africa  by  moving  inland  from  the 
coast  line  the  first  fact  of  importance  is  that  along  the  coast,  almost 
around  the  entire  region,  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  land  not  exceeding 
500  feet  in  height,  sometimes  very  narrow,  at  one  point  broadening  to  a 
few  miles  and  at  Delagoa  Bay  extending  even  to  15  or  20  miles,  which  is 
properly  speaking  the  coast  belt.  On  the  east  coast  this  belt  is  the  un- 
healthiest  part  of  South  Africa,  and  its  dangerous  character  increases 
northwards  towards  the  tropics.  Europeans  especially  find  that  in  this 
strip  of  coast  land  they  are  liable  to  malarial  disorders.  Beyond  this 
low  strip  of  coast  land  the  hills  lead  up  to  a  second  region.  Except  in 
the  far  northeast  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Town  the  rise  is 
somewhat  gradual,  while  at  the  places  named  it  is  abrupt  and  rugged. 
The  second  region  is  healthier  than  the  first,  but  it  again  gives  way  to  a 
third.  As  the  traveler  passes  inland  he  finds  himself  mounting  towards 
yet  another  terrace,  through  ranges  of  hills.  When  he  has  traveled  from 
30  to  50  miles  from  the  sea  he  finds  himself  at  a  height  of  from  3,000  to 
4,000  feet  above  sea  level,  and  this  is  increased  in  some  regions  again  to 
a  lofty  plateau  land  only  60  miles  from  the  sea  coast,  which  rises  to  a 
height  of  from  5,000  to  6,000  feet.  These  hills  intersected  with  narrow 
valleys  or  passes  belong  to  the  long  range  of  mountains  which  extends 
a  distance  of  1,600  miles  from  Cape  Town  right  up  to  the  valley  of  the 


GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE    OP  SOUTH'  AFRICA.  27 

Zambesi  River.  No  name  has  been  given  to  the  entire  range,  although 
the  tendency  is  to  extend  over  the  whole  the  name  Drakensberg,  which 
was  first,  confined  to  that  portion  of  the  range  forming  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  Only  in  Basutoland  do  the  peaks 
of  this  range  attain  the  height  of  10,000  and  11,000  feet.  Here  they  are 
even  covered  with  snow  for  several  months  of  the  year.  Beyond  this 
range  of  mountains  one  goes  down  only  from  1,000  to  3,000  feet  to  find 
one's  self  on  a  vast  table  land.  This  table  land  is  generally  flat  as  the 
flattest  prairie  land  in  America,  or  it  is  gently  undulating,  its  rolling 
contours  being  broken  here  and  there  by  abrupt  and  rocky  hills.  At 
some  points  this  plateau  is  even  6,000  feet  above  sea  level.  This  third 
region,  this  great  plateau  we  may  say,  is  South  Africa  itself,  since  it 
consists  of  no  less  than  seven-eighths  of  the  entire  region  so  named.  In 
the  far  north  it  descends  slightly  to  the  channel  of  the  Zambesi,  to  the 
west  it  slopes  gradually  down  and  descends  less  abruptly  to  the  sea  level 
than  on  the  eastern  coast.  No  one  can  thoroughly  understand  the  possi- 
bilities of  colonization  and  the  prospects  of  development  in  South  Africa 
who  does  not  clearly  realize  the  peculiar  characteristics  which  result 
from  the  extension  of  this  plateau  region. 

We  have  referred  to  the  importance  as  a  geographical  feature  of  the 
Drakensberg  Mountains.  They  form  the  most  important,  if  we  may  not 
even  say  the  only,  water-shed  determining  the  direction  of  the  South 
African  rivers.  It  has  been  remarked  that  South  Africa  is  the  land 
where  the  rivers  have  no  water  and  the  birds  have  no  songs,  where  there 
may  be  thunder  without  lightning.  It  is  true  that  many  of  what  are 
known  as  rivers  of  South  Africa  are  practically  just  dry  channels  for 
most  of  the  year  and  contain  water  only  during  what  is  known  as  the 
rainy  season.  This  is  true,  however,  in  the  main  only  of  the  rivers  which 
flow  from  the  Drakensberg  Mountains  westwards,  and  is  not  true  of  the 
rivers  which  from  the  mountain  heights  take  the  shorter  course  east- 
wards to  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  greatest  river  system  of  South  Africa  is  that  of  the  Orange  River, 
whose  chief  tributaries  are  the  Caledon  and  the  Vaa'l.  The  Vaal  is  itself 
a  large  river  with  tributaries  of  its  own.  As  the  Orange  River  flows 
west  on  its  journey  of  1,000  miles  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  number  of 
its  tributaries  decreases.  In  many  parts  it  flows  through  rough  and 


28  GEOGRAPHY   AND   CLIMATE    OP  SOUTH   AFRICA. 

wild  scenery  and  at  one  point  passes  over  what  are  known  as  the  Great 
Falls,  to  which  some  day  no  doubt  many  tourists  will  go  as  they  go  to 
Niagara,  or  as  they  will  go  to  the  still  more  beautiful  Victoria  Falls  on 
the  Zambesi.  The  Orange  River  with  its  tributaries  drains  an  area  of 
about  300,000  square  miles.  The  Limpopo  River,  otherwise  known  as 
the  Crocodile  River,  having  its  source  in  the  hills  near  Pretoria,  flowrs 
northwards  and  then  eastwards  and  forms  the  northern  boundary  of  the 
Transvaal,  falling  into  the  Indian  Ocean  north  of  Delagoa  Bay.  This 
river  also  suffers  from  the  irregularity  of  its  water  supply. 

There  are  signs  not  a  few  that  in  past  ages  the  entire  region  of  south 
central  Africa  possessed  a  much  more  abundant  water  supply  than  it 
does  to-day,  and  it  is  one  of  the  interesting  problems  of  the  future 
whether  by  means  of  irrigation  and  the  extension  of  verdure  over  the 
central  desert  region  a  change  in  the  annual  rain  fall  may  not  be  grad- 
ually secured.  South  Africa  at  present  enjoys  two  principal  seasons  of 
the  year  which  are  known,  not  as  summer  and  winter,  but  as  the  wet 
and  dry  seasons.  The  wet  season  is  caused  by  the  moisture  laden  winds 
from  the  east  and  southeast.  As  the  clouds  are  driven  towards  the  land 
they  are  caught  up  on  the  sharp  peaks  of  the  Drakensberg  Mountains 
and  pour  their  rains  upon  the  highly  favored  eastern  coast.  This  causes 
of  course  the  swollen  rivers,  the  many  floods  familiar  in  that  region ;  but 
the  abundance  of  rain  is  also  the  reason  for  the  remarkable  productivity 
of  the  eastern  coast,  which  stands  in  strange  contrast  with  the  barren 
and  sandy  wastes  of  the  western  shores.  The  rest  of  South  Africa  is 
watered  from  those  clouds  which  succeed  in  passing  the  Drakensberg 
range.  In  some  parts  of  the  western  region  the  annual  rain  fall  is  only 
from  5  to  10  inches.  The  value  of  this,  however  small  it  may  be,  vanishes 
almost  altogether  owing  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun  and  the  perpetual 
thirst  of  the  arid  soil.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  explorers  that  even  the 
great  Kalahari  Desert,  which  extends  from  Kuruman  northwards  and 
westwards,  can  be  made  to  blossom  like  the  rose  in  spite  of  its  almost 
complete  destitution  of  rain-fall  by  means  of  artesian  wells.  Such  wells 
have  been  opened  at  various  unpromising  points  with  remarkable  suc- 
cess. If  this  can  be  done  on  an  extensive  scale  results  ought  to  be  ob- 
tained comparable  only  with  those  which  followed  the  first  turning  of 
the  soil  on  the  prairies  of  Nebraska  and  Kansas. 


GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE   OF  SOUTH   AFRICA.  29 

• 

The  famous  African  explorer,  Sir  Henry-  M.  Stanley,  in  his  well 
known  letters  to  the  Times  on  his  journey  "Through  South  Africa,"  has 
thus  described  the  region  which  he  traversed  in  Bechuanaland: 

"To  a  new-comer  it  would  not  seem  so  full  of  promise  as  it  was  to  me. 
It  would  appear  as  a  waterless  region,  and  too  dry  for  a  man  accustomed 
to  green  fields  and  flowing  rivers,  but  I  have  seen  nothing  between  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Missouri  River  and  the  Rocky  Mountains 
to  surpass  it,  and  each  mile  we  travelled  in  Bechuanaland  confirmed  that 
impression.  Every  few  miles  we  crossed  dry  watercourses,  but,  though 
there  was  no  water  in  sight,  it  does  not  derogate  from  its  value  as  farm 
laud.  The  plateau  of  Persia  is  a  naked  desert  compared  to  it,  and  yet 
Persia  possesses  eight  millions  of  people,  and  at  one  time  contained 
double  that  number.  The  prairies  of  Nebraska,  of  Colorado,  and  Kansas 
are  inferior  in  appearance,  and  I  have  seen  them  in  their  uninhabited 
state,  but  they  are  to-day  remarkable  for  the  growth  of  their  many  cities 
and  their  magnificent  farming  estates.  All  that  is  wanted  to  render 
Bechuanaland  a  desirable  colony  is  water,  so  that  every  farm  might 
draw  irrigating  supplies  from  reservoirs  along  these  numerous  water- 
courses. For  Nature  has  so  disposed  the  land  that  anyone  with  ob- 
servant eyes  may  see  with  what  little  trouble  water  could  be  converted 
into  rich  green  pastures  and  fields  bearing  weighty  grain  crops.  The 
track  of  the  railway  runs  over  these  broad,  almost  level,  valleys,  hemmed 
in  by  masses  of  elevated  land  which  have  been  broken  up  by  ages  of 
torrential  rains,  and  whose  soils  have  been  swept  by  the  floods  over  the 
valleys,  naturally  leaving  the  bases  of  the  mountains  higher  than  the 
central  depression.  If  a  Persian  colonist  came  here  he  would  say:  'How 
admirable  for  my  purpose.  I  shall  begin  my  draining  ditches  or  canauts 
from  the  bases  of  those  hills  and  train  them  down  towards  the  lower 
parts  of  these  valleys,  by  which  time  I  shall  have  as  many  constant  and 
regular  running  streams  as  I  have  ditches,  and  my  flocks  and  herds  and 
Olds  shajl  have  abundance  of  the  necessary  element.'  A  thousand  of 
such  Persians  would  create  thus  a  central  stream  with  the  surplus  water 
flowing  along  the  valley,  and  its  borders  would  become  one  continuous 
grove.  As  the  Persians  would  do,  the  English  colonists  whose  luck  it 
may  be  to  come  to  this  land  may  also  do,  and  enrich  themselves  faster 
than  by  laboring  at  gold-mining. 


30  GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE    OF  SOUTH   AFRICA. 

"These  dry  river-beds,  now  filled  with  sand,  need  only  to  have  stone 
dams  built  across,  every  few  hundred  yards,  to  provide  any  number  of 
reservoirs.  They  have  been  formed  by  rushing  torrents  which  have  fur- 
rowed the  lowlands  down  to  the  bed  rock,  and  the  depth  and  breadth  of 
the  river  courses  show  us  what  mighty  supplies  of  water  are  wasted 
every  year.  As  the  torrents  slackened  their  flow,  they  deposited  their 
sediment,  and  finally  filtered  through  underneath  until  no  water  was 
visible,  but  by  digging  down  about  two  feet  it  is  found  in  liberal  quanti- 
ties, cool  and  sweet." 

One  of  the  remarkable  features  of  south  central  Africa  is  its  destitu- 
tion of  trees.  Through  great  tracts  of  the  country  the  forests  are  sparse 
and  the  individual  trees  small  and  scrubby.  Thorn  trees  abound,  but 
these  are  usually  somewhat  short  and  possess  little  beauty  of  form  or 
color.  There  are  many  wild  fruit  trees  and  it  is  possible  that  from  some 
of  these  may  be  developed  new  and  luscious  contributions  to  the  break- 
fast tables  of  the  world  in  years  to  come.  In  some  districts,  as  for 
example  at  Shoshong,  the  former  capital  of  the  Bamangwato  tribe,  it  is 
known  that  long  ago  trees  abounded  where  now  few  are  to  be  seen.  The 
fact  is  that  they  have  been  destroyed  by  the  native  tribes  themselves 
who  needed  them  for  building  their  huts  as  well  as  for  fire-wood.  A 
great  change  has  been  wrought  in  such  formerly  treeless  districts  as 
Johannesburg  and  Kimberley  by  the  planting  of  suitable  trees  and 
shrubs,  and  careful  watering  of  them.  Beautiful  parks  and  shady  ave- 
nues are  now  seen  where  all  was  sandy,  stony  and  desolate  twenty  years 
ago.  This  of  course  has  been  facilitated  by  the  fortunate  introduction 
of  the  blue  gum  tree  (Eucalyptus)  from  Australia.  This  tree  has  evi- 
dently taken  to  South  Africa  in  a  most  lively  and  happy  manner.  It 
grows  rapidly,  throwing  a  fine  shade,  and  has  done  more  than  any  other 
plant  to  make  unlovely  places  cool  and  beautiful. 

The  climate  of  the  country  of  course  varies  from  the  coast  belt  where, 
in  many  parts,  malaria  is  frequent,  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  sultry  in- 
land valleys;  but  by  far  the  larger  part  of  South  Africa  is  high  and  dry. 
The  result  is  that  on  the  whole  the.  climate  is  one  of  the  most  healthy  in 
the  world  and  eminently  suitable  for  European  colonization.  Sun-stroke 
is  unusual  although  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  can  be  very  fierce,  espe- 
cially in  those  parts  that  are  within  the  tropics.  Europeans,  however, 


SOLDIERS'    MONUMENT 

TEis  monument  was  erected  at  Pietermaritzburg,  in  Natal,  in  memory  of  the  Natal  colonial  soldiers  who 
fell  in  the  horrible  massacre  of  Isandhlwana  during  the  Zulu  war. 


NAPOLEON     EUGENE     LOUIS 

JEAN     JOSEPH 
PRINCE     IMPERIAL 


A    QUEEN'S    MEMORIAL 

The  inscription  on  this  plain  cross  in  far-off  Zululand  tells  its  own  story. 


CHIEF    TETELUKI— NATAL 

Not  a  Bird  of  Paradise — a  Zulu  warrior — the  professional  rapine  and  slaughter  maker  of  South  Africa. 


GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE   OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  35 

neither  on  first  going  nor  in  the  third  or  fourth  generation  show  any  sign 
of  lassitude  or  loss  of  energy.  They  are  big,  robust,  active  and  alert  men 
and  women.  Many  parts  of  South  Africa  will  become  famous  as  health 
resorts,  especially  for  those  who  suffer  from  chest  complaints  in  more 
northerly  regions.  This  salubrity  of  the  country  is  due  of  course  to  the 
dryness  of  the  atmosphere,  to  the  height  of  the  plateau  land  above  sea 
level,  which  renders  heat  less  trying  and  the  air  more  invigorating  than 
would  otherwise  be  the  case  in  that  latitude.  There  is  a  danger  encoun- 
tered by  newcomers  which  arises  from  the  fact  that  at  nightfall,  as  soon 
as  the  sun  has  set,  a  sudden  coolness  penetrates  the  air.  In  the  winter 
season  the  contrast  between  the  heat  at  noonday  and  the  often  very 
intense  cold  at  midnight  is  most  remarkable.  This  requires  the  exercise 
of  care  and  prudence  on  the  part  of  all  at  night  time.  Many  of  the  native 
tribes  suffer  greatly  from  pulmonary  complaints  through  the  use  of  in- 
sufficient covering  during  sleep  at  night.  But  where  this  alternation 
between  heat  and  cold  is  prudently  prepared  for  it  rather  adds  to  the 
exhilaration  of  the  system,  the  cold  night  doing  much  to  refresh  the 
wearied  frame  to  endure  the  heat  of  the  ensuing  day. 

The  deadly  pest  of  malarial  fever  has  been  already  referred  to  as 
prevalent  especially  in  the  tropical  coast  belt,  but  inland  it  is  to  be 
found  in  some  parts,  especially  in  the  northeastern  Transvaal.  In  fact, 
the  early  Boer  settlers  were  driven  back  from  some  portions  of  the  Ee- 
public  rather  by  the  attacks  of  fever  than  of  natives.  Pretoria,  which 
lies  in  a  well  watered  area  among  the  hills,  is  said  to  suffer  considerably 
during  the  wet  season  from  malaria,  but  Johannesburg,  which  is  only 
forty  miles  off,  has  no  fever  at  all,  as  it  lies  on  the  top  of  a  dry,  stony 
ridge.  Far  up  in  the  north  the  fever  is  found  as  you  reach  the  valley  of 
the  Zambesi,  but  in  Matebeleland,  much  of  which  is  4,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  it  is  practically  unknown. 

In  the  matter  of  climate  one  of  the  most  remarkable  portions  of 
South  Africa  is  that  known  as  the  Karroo,  which  was  formerly  described 
as  a  desert  and  was  the  terror  of  travellers  by  wagon  who  were  hasten- 
ing from  Cape  Town  north\vards  to  Bechuanaland.  '  It  is  a  vast  prairie 
country  between  the  second  and  third  ranges  of  hills  from  the  coast. 
Scarcely  a  tree  or  shrub  is  seen  on  its  wide  extent;  it  is  covered  by  a 
strong,  wiry  looking  grass  which,  unpromising  as  it  seems,  has  proved  to 


36  GEOGRAPHY  AND   CLIMATE    OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

be  full  of  succulence  and  makes  the  Karroo  one  of  the  finest  stock  rais- 
ing districts  in  the  world.  Sir  Henry  M.  Stanley  describes  the  air  of  the 
Karroo  as  strangely  appetizing.  Mr.  Bryce  says:  "The  brilliancy  of  tha 
lir,  the  warmth  of  the  days,  and  the  coolness  of  the  nights  remind  one 
/vho  traverses  the  Karroo  of  the  deserts  of  western  America  between  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  although  the  soil  is  much  les.j 
alkaline,  and  the  so-called  'sage-brush'  plants  characteristic  of  an  alka- 
line district,  are  mostly  absent."  And  again  he  says:  "In  a  landscape  so 
arid  one  hears  with  surprise  that  the  land  is  worth  ten  shillings  (about 
$2.50)  an  acre,  for  one  or  two  of  the  smaller  shrubs  give  food  for  sheep, 
and  there  are  flowers  scattered  about  sufficient  for  the  flocks.  The  farms 
are  large,  usually  of  at  least  6,000  acres,  so  one  seldom  sees  a  farm  house. 
The  farmers  are  all  of  Boer  stock.  ...  At  Matjesfontein,  an  enter- 
prising Scotchman  has  built  a  hotel  and  a  number  of  smaller  villas  to 
serve  as  a  health  resort;  has  dug  wells  and  planted  Australian  gums  for 
shade,  making  a  little  oasis  in  the  desert." 

This  entire  territory  of  South  Africa  is  divided  between  three  Euro- 
pean countries.  Germany  now  owns  since  the  year  1884  the  regions  on 
the  west  coast  known  as  Namaqualand  and  Damaraland.  On  the  far 
northeast  a  strip  on  the  coast  has  hitherto  belonged  to  Portugal.  The 
remainder  has  been  developed  under  the  influences  of  the  British  Em- 
pire, and  the  war  of  1899-1900  has  for  one  of  its  main  objects  to  deter- 
mine how  those  influences  henceforth  are  to  be  exercised  and  what  they 
are  to  secure.  Cape  Colony  occupies  the  southern  portion,  with  the 
Orange  River  for  its  northern  boundary,  while  South  Bechuanaland  has 
since  1890  been  annexed  to  it.  The  area  of  Cape  Colony  is  276,551  square 
miles.  In  the  east  we  have  the  colony  of  Natal  with  20,461  square  miles. 
The  native  territories  under  the  Imperial  Government  consist  of  Zulu- 
land  and  Amatongaland  with  15,000  square  miles  altogether,  Basuto- 
land  with  10,293  square  miles,  North  Bechuanaland  with  about  200,000 
square  miles.  In  addition  to  these  we  have  Southern  Rhodesia,  which  is 
administered  by  the  South  Africa  Chartered  Company  and  whose  aren 
is  about  210,000  square  miles.  Besides  these  we  have  the  two  independ- 
ent states  mainly  ruled  by  Europeans  of  Dutch  descent,  namely,  the 
South  African  Republic  (the  Transvaal)  with  114,000  square  miles  and 
the  Orange  Free  State  with  48,000  square  miles. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  DUTCH  OCCUPATION,  16SO-1806. 

SOUTH  AFRICA  became  known  to  Europeans  in  the  year  1480, 
when  Diaz,  the  famous  explorer  from  Portugal,  discovered  the 
headland  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  continent.  Here  he 
encountered  such  terrific  storms  that  he  called  it  "Cape  of  Storms." 
It  was  his  king  who,  disliking  the  name  and  foreseeing,  perhaps,  the 
benefits  which  this  discovery  might  bring,  called  it  "Cape  of  Good 
Hope."  Some  years  later  another  famous  Portuguese  sailor  sailed  right 
round  the  southern  end  of  the  continent,  found  his  way  up  the  east 
coast  and  thence  to  India.  This  voyage  opened  up  the  great  trade  route 
which  henceforth  was  taken  every  year  by  fleets  of  merchant  vessels 
plying  between  Europe  and  the  East  Indies.  The  Cape,  as  it  came  to  be 
called,  did  not  seem  inviting  in  itself  to  any  of  those  who  passed  its 
shores.  They  stopped  there  only  to  obtain  fresh  water  and  to  rest  their 
sailors  on  land  for  a  few  days  ere  starting  out  on  the  weeks  of  sea  life 
which  yet  lay  between  them  and  their  destination  in  either  direction. 
About  the  same  time  the  English  and  the  Dutch  East  India  Companies 
thought  of  placing  some  kind  of  a  fort  on  this  southern  point  and 
making  it  a  regular  port  of  call  in  that  region.  Accordingly,  in  1620, 
two  ships,  belonging  to  the  English  company,  did  actually  run  up  the 
English  flag  and  took  formal  possession.  When  this  action  was  reported 
to  the  English  government,  they  disapproved  of  it  and  no  further  steps 
were  taken  to  carry  out  the  policy  of  the  great  East  India  Company. 
This  is  the 'first  of  many  instances  which  we  shall  note  in  the  course  of 
our  story,  in  which  Great  Britain  first  took  a  step  and  then  withdrew  it 
in  her  dealings  with  South  Africa.  The  habit  became  so  confirmed  that 
an  African  chief,  a  few  years  ago,  called  the  British  government  "The 
government  that  is  always  going  away." 

But,  to  return.    In  1652  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  made  by 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  with  the  full  consent  of  their  Govern- 

37 


38  .        THE  DUTCH  OCCUPATION,  1650-1806. 

ment.  The  crew  of  a  ship  which  had  been  wrecked  had  spent  some 
months  on  the  very  spot  where  Cape  Town  now  stands;  they  had  planted 
a  few  seeds,  had  found  the  climate  pleasant,  the  soil  productive,  and  some 
of  them  reported  their  happy  experiences  to  the  authorities  in  their 
homeland.  A  number  of  people,  amongst  whom  were  a  very  few  women, 
were  accordingly  sent  out  under  Jan  van  Riebeck  to  establish  a  hospital 
for  sick  sailors,  to  cultivate  gardens  for  the  supply  of  ships  with  fresh 
food,  to  barter  with  the  natives  for  cattle  and  to  build  a  fort  for  their 
own  protection.  They  were  not  considered  as  colonists  in  the  ordinary 
sense;  they  were  all  servants  of  the  East  India  Company,  living  there 
in  order  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  their  great  merchant  fleets.  It 
was  found  necessary,  however,  at  a  later  date,  to  have  the  land  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  the  fort  parcelled  out  into  farms  and  to  give 
these  over  to  colonists  of  another  type.  Towards  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  number  of  these  colonists  was  very  largely  re- 
enforced  by  the  arrival  of  French  and  Swiss  Protestants,  who,  having 
fled  from  persecution  in  their  own  countries  to  Holland,  were  sent  out, 
with  their  own  consent,  to  the  Cape.  These  new  arrivals  added  elements 
of  the  greatest  value  to  the  little  Dutch  community.  To  them  is  traced 
the  beginning  of  that  grape  culture,  for  which  Cape  Town  has  since 
become  so  famous.  These  French  families  became  gradually  absorbed. 
They  were  forced  to  give  up  their v  language  for  Dutch  and  soon  lost  all 
direct  relationship  with  their  own  country. 

At  first  these  European  settlers  came  into  contact  with  the  natives 
of  South  Africa  in  the  trading  of  cattle  and  sheep.  As  their  numbers 
increased,  they  gradually  occupied  lands  which  the  natives  had  used 
for  the  pasture  of  their  cattle,  and  over  this  land  question  the  first 
quarrels  arose.  To  begin  with,  the  Dutch  sought  to  buy  the  lands.  At  a 
later  date  they  gave  up  this  formality  and  formed  the  habit  of  seizing 
what  they  wanted  for  their  farms.  At  a  still  later  date  they  even  went 
the  length  of  employing  the  former  owners  of  the  soil  as  their  slaves 
in  its  cultivation.  The  slave  movement  was,  most  unfortunately,  stim- 
ulated by  the  introduction  of  negro  slaves  from  the  west  coast. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  the  early  Dutch  governors  of  South 
Africa  found  it  an  easy  task  to  administer  their  singular  dominion.  To 
begin  with,  some  of  the  governors  themselves  were  self-seeking  and 


THE  DUTCH  OCCUPATION,  1650-1806.  39 

unscrupulous  men.  They  were  apt  to  break  the  rules  of  their  office  by 
attempting  to  make  their  own  fortunes.  This  brought  them  into  com- 
petition of  a  commercial  kind  with  the  very  people  over  whose  interests 
they  were  supposed  to  rule.  Further,  they  fell  into  the  blunder  of  im- 
posing heavy  rates  of  taxation,  which  created  great  and  increasing 
impatience.  These,  and  other  such  circumstances,  induced  many  of  the 
farmers,  or  Boers  as  they  were  called,  to  move  farther  away  from  the 
seat  of  authority  and  tyranny.  They  passed  northwards  and  east- 
wards, occupying  all  the  desirable  lands,  often  encountering  the  natives 
in  warfare  and  enduring  great  hardships.  But  they  found  it  not  easy 
to  isolate  themselves  and  become  sovereigns  of  their  own  domain.  The 
Dutch  governors  followed  them  over  mountain  ranges  and  across  large 
rivers  into  their  distant  homes  and  insisted  on  treating  them  either  as 
citizens  still  responsible  to  the  Dutch  government,  or  as  rebels  liable 
to  the  severest  punishment. 

The  life  which  these  distant  settlers  lived  was  by  no  means  unen- 
joyable.  The  climate  is  extremely  healthy.  Their  habits  of  life  were 
simple  and  regular.  They  performed  their  journeys,  drawn  slowly  at 
the  rate  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  a  day,  by  long  teams  of  oxen.  They 
built  their  little  house,  tilled  their  patch  of  land,  looked  after  their 
ever-increasing  herds,  fought  off  any  of  the  natives  who  threatened  to 
be  troublesome,  paid  their  rare  visits — once  or  twice  a  year — to  the 
nearest  church  for  the  celebration  of  the  "nachtmaal"  or  holy  com- 
munion. Nevertheless,  the  life  was  by  no  means  elevating,  for  as  the}7 
spread  northwards  they  became  less  and  less  of  an  agricultural,  more 
and  more  of  a  pastoral  people.  Their  farms  became  larger  until  no  one 
was  contented  with  less  than  three  miles  square;  they  came  to  relish 
manual  labor  less  and  less  and  depended  wholly  upon  the  inefficient 
service  of  ignorant  natives.  They  formed  no  large  towns  which  they 
could  visit  and  where  something  of  civilization  could  lay  hold  of  them; 
they  learned  to  love  hunting  and  traveling,  and  the  mere  independence 
of  their  isolated  life. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  three  or  four  European 
countries  were  engaged  in  a  mighty  struggle  for  the  control  and  the 
development  of  large  portions  of  the  world.  It  was  being  determined 
whether  France,  or  Holland,  or  England  should  lead  the  destinies  of 


40  THE  DUTCH   OCCUPATION,  1650-1806. 

vast  regions  through  the  nineteenth  century.  It  was  impossible  that  the 
importance  of  the  Cape  should  remain  unnoticed  by  these  fierce  con- 
testants, and  hence  we  find  that  the  South  African  colony  changed 
hands  several  times  with  the  changing  fortunes  of  war  in  Europe.  The 
European  nations  were  contesting  for  supremacy  in  the  East  and  the 
Cape  route  was  the  only  one  available;  it  was  therefore  important  to 
determine  whether  France,  Britain  or  Holland  should  own  the 
Cape  Colony.  From  1795  to  1802  it  was  held  by  Britain  and  was  then 
restored  by  treaty  to  Holland.  But  in  1806,  when  Napoleon  was  crush- 
ing Europe,  Britain  felt  compelled  to  keep  the  Cape  from  his  grasp. 
It  was  not  then  formally  annexed  by  the  British  Government,  which 
looked  forward  to  the  possibility  of  restoring  it  to  its  former  owners 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  war.  In  the  meantime  two  Governors  were 
sent  out  successively  from  London  who  acted  with  great  wisdom,  and 
on  the  whole  succeeded  in  allaying  the  first  intensity  of  bitterness  felt 
by  the  Dutch  colonists  at  being  conquered  and  made  subject  to  a 
foreign  power.  In  1814,  when  she  had  finally  overwhelmed  Napoleon, 
Great  Britain  had  many  treaties  to  make.  She  had  saved  Europe  at 
infinite  cost  to  herself,  and  was  entangled  in  many  complicated  rela- 
tions as  a  consequence.  At  the  treaty  of  London,  accordingly,  provision 
was  made  with  Holland  for  the  purchase  by  Great  Britain  of  certain 
Dutch  colonies,  including  the  Cape  Colony.  For  these  Great  Britain 
paid  the  sum  of  £6,000,000  (about  $30,000,000),  the  interest  on  which 
was  more  even  at  that  time  than  these  colonies  could  possibly  have 
paid  in  cash  to  the  purchasers.  The  history  of  the  Dutch  occupation 
of  South  Africa  legally  ended  in  that  year  and  the  history  of  British 
supremacy  in  that  region  began  its  curiously  uncertain  and  perplexing 
course. 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  COLONY  OF  NATAL. 

ABOUT  two  years  after  the  Great  Trek  out  of  Cape  Colony  some 
of  its  leaders  discovered  the  pleasant  land  of  Natal.  They  crossed 
under  a  brave  and  able  man,  Mr.  Pieter  Retief,  over  the  Drakens- 
berg  Mountains,  and  found  themselves  in  the  region  of  the  Tugela  River. 
This  region  was  supposed  by  the  Boers  to  be  entirely  new  to  Europeans 
except  along  the  coast  line.  But  at  Port  Natal,  the  name  of  the  harbor 
where  Durban  now  stands,  a  few  enterprising  Englishmen  had  for  a 
number  of  years  been  settled.  In  1825  one  of  them,  a  British  officer,  had 
already  obtained  a  concession  from  the  Zulus  covering  a  large  part  of 
that  territory.  This  concession  is  ignored  by  all  the  pro-Boer 
historians.  These  Englishmen  petitioned  in  vain  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment for  the  formal  annexation  of  their  region  and  their  own  pro- 
tection by  British  power.  They,  from  the  first,  resented  the  idea  of 
being  united  with,  or  considered  as  a  part  of,  Cape  Colony,  and  wished 
to  have  a  new  history  and  a  country  of  their  own. 

When  the  Boers  arrived  in  Natal  they  found  that  the  splendid  coun- 
try from  the  Tugela  River  southwards  to  that  which  now  is  called  St. 
John's  River  had  been  almost  entirely  denuded  of  native  inhabitants  by 
the  ruthless  wars  of  a  Zulu  tribe.  This  was  the  tribe  which  had  been  so 
marvelously  organized  into  an  irresistible  army  by  the  great  chief, 
Chaka.  He  had  been  succeeded  by  his  brother  Dingaan,  whose  capital 
was  situated  in  a  valley  north  of  the  Tugela  River.  The  town  consisted 
of  a  vast  circle  of  huts  surrounding  a  central  open  space  or  kraal;  this 
was  the  spot  where  his  regiments  were  drilled  and  reviewed  ere  they 
engaged  in  their  vast  feasts  of  beef  and  beer  and  engaged  in  their 
weird  and  terrible  war  dances.  When  Retief  found  that  Dingaan  was 
the  most  powerful  man  in  that  country  he  resolved  at  once  to  get  into  as 
friendly  relations  with  him  as  possible.  It  was  his  aim  to  obtain  the 
formation  of  a  treaty  by  which  Dingaan  as  an  independent  ruler  should 
grant  to  him  and  his  Boer  followers  a  large  slice  of  territory.  There  they 

41 


42  THE   COLONY    OF   NATAL. 

hoped  to  be  able  to  settle  in  a  region  over  which  the  British  Government 
had  as  yet  established  no  authorit}-,  and  where  the  Boers  might  hope  at. 
last  to  erect  an  independent  republic  of  their  own.  Iletief  was  received 
by  the  chief  with  every  sign  of  good- will  and  a  large  territory  was 
offered  to  him  on  condition  of  his  compelling  a  distant  chief  to  repay 
some  thousands  of  cattle  which  he  had  taken  from  Dingaan.  This  con- 
dition Eetief  fulfilled,  and,  returning  with  the  cattle,  he  brought  also 
from  the  Orange  Free  State,  we  are  told,  nearly  1,000  wagons  containing 
the  families  and  movable  property  of  those  who  hoped,  under  his  leader- 
ship, to  establish  the  new  state. 

When  they  descended  upon  -the  region  which  they  expected  to 
make  their  home,  Retief  went  with  some  50  Boers  and  about  40 
black  men  to  make  their  final  agreement  with  Dingaan.  The 
chief  received  them  as  before,  displayed  his  warriors  and  held  war 
dances,  and  then  with  foul  treachery,  at  a  moment  when  the  Boer  party 
were  collected  before  him  without  their  arms,  he  shouted  to  the  dancing 
warriors,  "Kill  the  wizards,"  and  not  one  of  Retief  s  entire  party  was 
allowed  to  escape.  Swift  as  a  thunderbolt  Dingaan  hurled  his  army 
upon  the  encampments  of  Boers.  The  first  was  reached  at  a  place  of  sor- 
row, ever  after  named  Weenen  (place  of  weeping).  Here  they  surprised 
a  party  of  41  white  men,  56  white  women  and  their  children  to  the  num- 
ber of  185,  besides  more  than  200  black  servants,  and  put  everyone  to 
death  except  one  young  man,  who  hastily  rode  to  the  other  encampments 
and  warned  them  of  their  danger.  In  the  year  '38  the  various  companies 
united  under  a  powerful  leader  called  Andries  Pretorius,  and  under  him 
they  succeeded  at  last  in  crushing  Dingaan's  power.  But  several  most 
fierce  and  terrific  battles  were  necessary  ere  this  was  accomplished. 
The  Englishmen  at  Port  Natal  also  assisted.  With  more  than  1,000  na- 
tives, they  attacked  Dingaan.  After  fighting  for  many  hours  they  were 
overwhelmed  by  thousands  of  Zulus  and  only  four  Englishmen  and  some 
hundreds  of  blacks  escaped,  having  rushed  through  the  Tugela  River. 
The  most  memorable  day  of  battle  was  the  16th  of  December,  1838, 
when  about  450  Boers  met  many  thousands  of  Zulus,  defeating  and  scat- 
tering the  very  flower  of  Chaka's  army.  This  day  has  ever  since  by  the 
Boers  of  the  Transvaal  been  celebrated  as  Dingaan's  Day,  with  religious 
worship  and  solemn  rejoicing.  In  memory  of  their  victory  they  also 


06 
OQ 


O  «-, 

Of  ° 

«  I 

ac  •§ 

H  2 


O     2 


O 

a 

ee 
OQ 


a 

w  S 

5  3 

u  ,« 

Of     ' 

St. 
5 

u   -s 

n    -s 


THE   COLONY    OF    NATAL.  45 

built  a  church  at  the  town  which  they  proceeded  to  establish  and  which 
they  called  Pietermaritzburg.  They  were  enabled  finally  to  crush  the 
Zulus  by  means  of  an  alliance  with  one  Panda,  who  revolted  with  a  large 
section  of  the  tribe  against  Dingaan,  the  chief.  The  latter  fled  north 
and  was  assassinated  in  1840. 

No  one  can  fail  surely  to  admire  the  courage  and  almost  sublime  de- 
termination with  which  these  Boers  carried  out  the  conquest  of  Din- 
gaan. Whether  one  reads  of  the  heroic  women  who  urged  their  hus- 
bands on  to  punish  the  chief  for  his  act  of  treachery,  or  the  men  who  set 
themselves  with  a  fierce  will  to  rid  the  land  of  this  blood-thirsty  tyrant, 
or  even  the  young  boys  wrho  went  into  battle  with  the  passion  of  filial  de- 
votion; or  whether  we  think  of  the  religious  fervor  which  characterized 
them  all  through  their  campaigns,  which  enabled  them  to  pray  night  by 
night  on  their  marches,  and  to  praise  the  God  of  battles  after  every  vic- 
tory, we  cannot  but  feel  that  this  story  of  the  conquest  of  Natal  deserves 
to  be  placed  as  a  mere  story  of  brave  deeds  and  dauntless  enterprise 
among  the  most  remarkable  in  the  history  of  men. 

All  the  more  must  we  sympathize  writh  the  keen  disappointment  of 
these  farmers  when  it  came  to  their  knowledge  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment was  about  to  assert  its  authority  over  Natal.  Stories  came  to  Cape 
Towrn  of  certain  efforts  which  the  farmers  were  making  to  drive  other 
tribes  away  from  desirable  locations  and  to  move  them  south  and  west 
towards  Cape  Colony  itself,  thus  intending  to  make  comfort  for  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of  the  citizens  of  the  older  colony.  When  a  small 
party  of  soldiers  at  Port  Natal  claimed  authority  over  them  the  Boers  at 
once  attacked  them  and  laid  siege  to  their  camp.  At  last,  however,  rein- 
forcements came  and  the  Boers  at  once  submitted.  At  a  meeting  of  their 
Volksraad,  prolonged  and  bitter  debates  took  place,  which  ended  in  a 
resolution  to  accept  the  inevitable  and  come  under  the  authority  of  the 
Queen.  Some  hundreds  of  families  remained  in  Natal,  and  have  ever 
since  enjoyed  the  peace,  the  security  and  prosperity  of  a  steady  and 
strong  Government;  but  the  majority,  it  is  said,  could  not  brook  the  idea 
of  remaining  under  authority.  It  is  probable  that  not  a  mere  prejudice 
against  government  by  Great  Britain  led  to  their  fresh  emigration.  The 
fact  is  that  they  wrere  once  more  brought  into  contact  with  the  funda- 
mental principle  upon  which  Great  Britain  deals  with  native  races. 


46  THE  COLONY  OP  NATAL 

That  principle  in  its  humbling  application  by  British  Governors  had 
driven  them  from  Cape  Colony,  and  the  prospect  of  its  application  drove 
them  from  Natal.  One  of  the  chief  reasons  given  for  the  assertion  of 
British  authority  in  that  region  was  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  native 
tribes,  and  three  conditions  were  announced  as  necessary  to  be  observed 
by  all  who  would  settle  there  as  subjects  of  the  Queen.  First,  there 
should  not  be  in  the  eyes  of  the  law  any  discrimination  founded  upon 
distinction  of  color  or  language  or  creed.  Second,  no  attacks  should  be 
made  by  private  persons  or  bodies  of  men  upon  natives  residing  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  colony  without  direct  authority  of  the  Government. 
And,  thirdly,  slavery  in  any  form  and  under  any  name  must  be  consid- 
ered as  unlawful  within  the  Queen's  dominions. 

It  was  in  1842  that  Port  Natal  was  taken;  in  1845  it  was  constituted  a 
Colony.  Between  these  years  various  parties  of  the  Boers  crossed  the 
Drakensberg  Mountains  and  settled  in  various  parts  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal.  In  1856  Natal  was  granted  a  still  larger 
measure  of  self-government,  the  affairs  of  the  colony  being  managed  by 
a  council  consisting  partly  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  white  inhab- 
itants and  partly  of  officials  appointed  by  the  Crown.  One  of  the  imme- 
diate results  of  the  British  occupation  and  government  was  that  the  de- 
populated country  became  a  haven  for  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes,  and 
vast  numbers  of  individuals  who  had  for  years  been  practically  without 
homes.  As  they  flocked  into  the  country,  locations  were  assigned  them. 
Now  the  population  is  estimated  at  between  400,000  and  500,000  natives. 
Many  of  these  live  under  tribal  laws  and  have  been  hardly  touched  by 
either  Christianity  or  civilization.  They  are  increasing  with  enormous 
rapidity  and  the  wisest  statesmen  in  Natal  look  forward  with  anxiety  to 
the  problem  which  they  will  present  in  a  few  years  to  that  Government. 

Natal,  with  its  warm  climate,  its  rich  soil,  its  abundant  rivers,  yields 
many  most  valuable  products,  but  these  can  only  be  grown  by  means  of 
native  labor.  .Inasmuch  as  the  African  natives  are  lazy  beyond  com- 
pare, the  enterprising  Natal  Europeans  hit  upon  the  idea  of  importing 
coolies  from  the  East.  Many  thousands  have  been  brought  from  India, 
of  whom  it  was  thought  that  they  would  all  return  to  their  homes,  but 
most  of  them  find  Natal  as  good  a  place  to  die  in  as  India ;  and  there  they 
remain.  As  they  were  British  subjects  before  coming  to  Natal  their 


THE    COLOXY    OP    XATAL.  47 

presence  there  has  constituted  a  distinct  and  serious  problem  for  colon- 
ial politicians. 

Like  the  Cape  Colony  it  is  a  self-governing  colony,  complete  self- 
government  having  been  granted  in  1893.  The  Legislature  consists  of 
the  Governor,  a  nominated  Legislative  Council,  and  an  elected  Legisla- 
tive Assembly.  The  Legislative  Council  is  composed  of  eleven  mem- 
bers, nominated  by  the  Governor  on  the  advice  of  his  ministers,  and 
distributed  between  the  eight  counties  into  which  the  colony  is  divided. 
A  member  of  the  Legislative  Council  must  be  30  years  of  age,  a  resi- 
dent in  the  colony  of  ten  years'  standing,  and  possessed  of  immovable 
property  within  the  colony  to  the  net  value  of  £500.  He  holds  his  seat 
for  ten  years.  The  Legislative  Assembly  consists  of  thirty-seven  mem- 
bers, elected  by  ballot  to  represent  thirteen  constituencies.  The  quali- 
fication for  membership  of  the  Assembly  is  the  same  as  the  electoral 
qualification.  Electors  must  be  21  years  of  age,  and  possess  immovable 
property  to  the  value  of  £50,  or  rent  such  property  to  the  annual  value 
of  £10,  or  have  resided  three  years  in  the  colony,  with  an  income  of  not 
less  than  £96  per  annum.  The  life  of  the  Assembly  lasts  for  four  years, 
if  it  is  not  previously  dissolved  by  the  Governor.  Members  of  the 
Council  and  Assembly  are  not  paid,  but  are  entitled  to  a  travelling 
allowance. 

The  executive  power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Governor  and  his  Execu- 
tive Council,  the  latter  consisting  of  the -Ministers  for  the  time  being. 
They  are  not  more  than  six  in  number,  and  may  sit  and  speak  in  either 
house,  but  vote  only  in  the  house  of  which  they  are  members.  Under 
the  Constitution  Act  a  Civil  List  is  reserved,  one  item  in  which  is  the 
sum  of  £10,000  to  be  devoted  annually  to  promoting  the  welfare  and 
education  of  the  natives. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

«  » 

THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE. 

THE  Boer  farmers,  who  in  large  numbers  were  moving  north- 
wards, met  with  many  strange  and  dreadful  experiences,  but 
large  numbers  of  them  settled  down  in  regions  where  they  en- 
joyed comparative  peace  and  prosperity.    Amongst  these  were  the  set- 
tlers in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Orange  Free  State.     This  region, 
tying  north  of  the  Great  River — now  invariably  called  the  Orange 
River — and  south  of  the  Vaal  River,    has   for   its    eastern    base   the 
remarkable  highlands  of  Basutoland  and  the  range  known  as  Bracken- 
berg.    The  country  itself  consists,  for  the  most  part,  of  rolling  prairies 
intersected  with  many  streams.    It  is  a  rich  farming  country. 

When  the  Boer  farmers  first  reached  it,  they  found  that  it  had  been 
recently  devastated  by  a  section  of  the  Zulu  tribe  under  a  brilliant  but 
ruthless  leader  called  Moselekatse.  These  savages,  afterwards  called 
Matebele,  had  swept  the  country,  slaying  the  people,  destroying  their 
fields  and  carrying  off  their  cattle.  They  spared  only  the  young  boys 
and  girls,  who  were  destined  to  be  brought  up  as  members  of  their 
tribe.  The  Boers  could  not  escape  a  contest  with  these  terrible  and 
bloodthirsty  warriors.  One  section  of  the  Boers,  under  a  man  named 
Potgieter,  left  at  a  certain  point  the  women  and  children  of  their  large 
company  in  order  that  the  men  might  explore  the  country  further 
north.  In  their  absence,  the  families  were  attacked  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  them  put  to  death  by  a  band  of  these  Zulu  warriors.  The  Zulus 
went  to  their  headquarters  for  re-enforcements,  and  in  the  meantime 
Potgieter  and  his  company  returned.  He  proceeded  immediately  to 
form  what  is  called  in  South  Africa  a  "laager,''  which  is  a  rough  circle 
of  camp  material  formed  by  drawing  the  wagons  together  and  filling 
up  the  space  between  the  wheels  with  earth  and  branches  of  trees. 
From  behind  this  breastwork  the  Europeans  could  use  their  guns  stead- 
ily and  with  comparative  safety,  while  the  Zulus,  not  possessing  fire 

48 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE.  49 

arms,  found  themselves  unable  to  break  through  the  barriers  and  use 
their  terrible  spears.  By  these  means  Potgieter  inflicted  a  severe  defeat 
upon  the  Zulus  and  drove  them  off.  The  savages  were  so  driven  to 
despair  at  not  getting  through  the  wagons  to  reach  their  enemies  that 
they  attempted  to  attack  them  by  throwing  their  spears  over  the  roofs 
of  the  wagons.  This,  of  course,  was  a  comparatively  harmless  pro- 
ceeding. 

Having,  in  several  skirmishes,  thrashed  these  Zulus  and  taken  some 
thousands  of  cattle  from  them,  they  found  themselves  at  last  attacked 
by  Moselekatse  himself  at  the  head  of  twelve  thousand  warriors.  The 
Boer  farmers  only  numbered  135,  but  they  were  on  horses  and  armed 
with  guns  and  for  nine  days  they  kept  up  an  incessant  battle  against  the 
hosts  of  their  enemies.  Their  method  was  simple,  daring  and  most 
effective.  They  approached  to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Mate- 
bele,  used  their  guns  with  terrific  precision  and  then  galloped  away 
from  the  rushing  onslaught  immediately  made  upon  them,  thus  keeping 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  Matebele  assegai  and  shooting  down  no  one 
knows  how  many  of  the  masses  opposed  to  them.  They  at  last  fairly 
disheartened  Moselekatse  and  his  famous  regiments.  Invincible  these 
had  proved  themselves  against  natives  armed  as  they  themselves  were 
and  invincible  also' they  had  deemed  themselves  against  the  white  men. 
Great  was  their  amazement  and  horror  to  find  themselves  defeated,  and 
they  fled,  northwards  they  fled,  spreading  death  and  destruction 
throughout  the  whole  region  which  they  traversed.  Many  years  after- 
wards visitors  to  Matabeleland,  now  called  Rhodesia,  where  Moselekatse 
settled,  were  wont  to  hear  the  older  warriors  of  his  tribe  speak  of  their 
ancient  battles  with  the  Boers.  Always  they  spoke  with  tones  of 
respect  and  even  of  awe  as  of  men  they  had  found  superior  warriors 
to  themselves. 

At  the  place  where  one  of  their  victories  was  gained,  namely  at 
Winburg,  the  emigrants  formed  themselves  into  an  organized  com- 
munity, adopting  articles  for  their  self-government.  That  was  in  the 
year  1837.  It  was  not  long  before  they  found  themselves  pursued,  as 
heretofore,  by  the  long  arm  of  British  authority.  In  1846  there  arrived 
across  the  Orange  River  one  of  the  most  famous  governors  of  South 
Africa,  Sir  Harry  Smith  by  name.  He  found  himself  involved  in  dis- 


50  THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE. 

putes  with  these  farming  communities  that  were  establishing  them- 
selves at  various  parts  north  and  east  from  the  Cape  Colony.  In  the 
conduct  of  these  disputes,  the  British  authorities  were  not  always  right. 
They  frequentl}'  made  mistakes,  especially  in  their  dealings  with  the 
immense  variety  of  native  tribes,  many  of  whom  were  quarreling 
amongst  themselves  for  the  possession  of  the  lands  of  which  also  the 
Boer  farmers  were  taking  possession.  If  the  Cape  governors  and  their 
officials  had  known  all  about  South  African  ethnology,  about  the  cus- 
toms and  laws  of  native  tribes,  which  is  known  now,  many  of  their 
worst  blunders  might  have  been  prevented.  Moreover,  the  principle 
had  been  adopted  and  was  sedulously  maintained,  that  the  Boer  farm- 
ers, being  actually  British  subjects,  could  not  expect  to  be  allowed  to 
pass  beyond  the  control  of  the  Queen.  Wherever  they  went,  they  went 
as  British  citizens,  responsible  to  the  Governor  at  the  Cape;  wherever 
they  went  he  was  responsible  for  them.  The  fact  that  they  settled 
among  natives  in  territories  which  were  not  British  did  not  seem  to  the 
latter  authorities  any  reason  for  disavowing  their  citizenship.  Bather 
did  their  presence,  and  the  positions  of  pre-eminence  which  they  gained 
in  regions  hitherto  occupied  by  native  tribes  involve  their  rulers  in 
serious  obligations  regarding  their  conduct.  This  principle  had  been 
maintained  by  the  Dutch  government  before  the  British  came,  and  has 
been  generally  acted  upon,  it  is  believed,  by  every  European  govern- 
ment when  groups  of  its  citizens  have  settled  in  savage  lands  or  unoc- 
cupied territories. 

It  was  in  pursuance  of  this  principle  that  Sir  Harry  Smith,  in 
1846,  established  what  he  called  the  Orange  Biver  Sovereignty  over 
the  region  described  above.  The  Boer  farmers  were  many  of  them 
contented  to  have  it  so,  but  others  of  course  were  discontented. 
These  latter  placed  themselves  under  Commandant  Pretorius,  who,  in 
the  year  1848,  drove  the  English  officials  across  the  Orange  Biver  and 
proposed  to  rule  the  country  without  them.  Sir  Harry  Smith  imme- 
diately returned  and  in  a  fierce  fight  at  Boomplats  defeated  them. 
Pretorius,  and  those  who  were  thoroughly  ipreconcilable,  forthwith 
set  out  on  another  trek.  This  time  they  crossed  the  Vaal  Biver  and 
settled  down  in  the  region  which  came  speedily  to  be  known  as  the 
Trans- Vaal.  The  communities  which  remained  in  the  region  between 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE.  51 

the  Orange  and  the  Vaal  Rivers  were,  on  the  whole,  well  content  to  be 
under  British  government.  Unfortunately,  the  Governor  was  able  to 
leave  in  that  region  only  a  very  small  military  force.  When  Moshesh,  a 
powerful  chief  of  the  Basutos  on  the  eastern  border,  offended  the 
Orange  River  authorities  by  making  raids  upon  the  farms  and  carrying 
off  thousands  of  cattle,  this  little  force  attempted  to  attack  him.  They 
were  driven  back  and  the  farmers  were  in  consternation.  The  British 
forces  were  already  engrossed  in  a  protracted  and  severe  struggle  fur- 
ther east  with  the  natives  of  Kaffraria  and  no  immediate  help  could 
be  expected  from  them.  The  farmers  accordingly  appealed  for  help  to 
their  former  commandant,  Pretorius,  who  at  this  time  was  treated  by 
the  British  as  an  outlaw.  He  at  once  saw  his  opportunity  and  gave  the 
British  their  choice  between  recognizing  his  community  across  the 
Transvaal  as  an  independent  republic,  or  meeting  him  again  at  the  head 
of  the  disaffected  farmers  of  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty.  Finding 
themselves  in  this-  dilemma  the  British  accepted  the  former  alternative 
and  in  that  year,  1852,  at  the  Sand  River  convention,  agreed  to  those 
articles  which  created  an  independent  Transvaal  State. 

And  now  Sir  Harry  Smith  found  all  his  plans  upset  from  an  entirely 
new  quarter.  The  home  government  in  London  were  becoming  thor- 
oughly tired  of  incessant  struggles  in  South  Africa  with  natives  they 
could  not  love  and  Boers  they  could  not  understand.  It  seemed  as 
though  Cape  Colony  were  only  a  burden  and  an  expense,  which  brought 
no  return  either  of  wealth  or  of  glory.  Accordingly,  it  had  been  resolved 
that  the  Orange  River  should  henceforth  form  the  northern  boundary 
of  British  dominions  in  South  Africa.  Sir  George  Cathcart  was  there- 
fore commanded  to  abandon  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty  and  to  enter 
into  a  treaty  recognizing  the  Europeans  there  as  an  independent  and 
self-governing  State.  "He  called  upon  the  European  inhabitants  to  elect 
"a  body  of  representatives  to  take  over  the  government;  but  when  the 
"representatives  assembled,  they  objected  in  the  strongest  terms  to  be 
"abandoned  by  Great  Britain,  for  even  while  they  were  debating,  Mos- 
"hesh  was  crushing  Sikonyela  and  another  of  his  opponents,  and  adding 
"their  territory  to  his  own.  In  effect,  the  representative  assembly  said 
"to  Sir  George  Clerk  (the  British  special  commissioner)  that  they  held 
"England  in  honor  bound  to  reduce  the  great  barbaric  power  she  had 


52  t  THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE. 

"done  so  much  to  build  up.  When  that  was  done,  they  would  not  need 
"military  assistance,  and  would  be  prepared  to  take  over  the  govern- 
"rnent  of  the  country,  though  they  wished  to  remain  permanently  con- 
"nected  with  the  British  Empire.  The  special  commissioner,  however, 
"was  prevented  by  his  instructions  from  paying  any  attention  to  lan- 
guage of  this  kind,  and  was  obliged  to  term  those  who  used  it  'obstruc- 
tionists.' The  assembly  then  sent  two  delegates  to  England  to  implore 
"the  Queen's  government  and  the  parliament  not  to  abandon  them,  but 
"those  gentlemen  met  with  no  success  in  their  mission."  (Theal.) 

After  a  considerable  amount  of  negotiations,  the  Governor  at  last 
succeeded  in  persuading  the  assembly  of  delegates  to  agree  to  accept 
independence — it  wras  asserted  that  it  was  even  necessary  to  bribe  some 
to  vote  for  this  measure.  The  following  excerpts  from  the  articles  of 
convention,  which  were  at  last  agreed  to  between  the  Queen's  special 
commissioner  and  the  representatives  of  the  inhabitants,  may  be  inter- 
esting at  this  point. 

In  Article  I:  "Her  Majesty's  special  commissioner,  in  entering  into 
a  convention  for  finally  transferring  the  government  of  the  Orange 
River  territory  to  the  representatives  delegated  by  the  inhabitants  to 
receive  it,  guarantees,  on  the  part  of  her  Majesty's  government,  the 
future  independence  of  that  country  and  its  government."  A  procla- 
mation is  promised  "finally  freeing  them  from  their  allegiance  to  the 
British  crown,  but  declaring  them  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  free  and 
independent  people,  and  their  government  to  be  treated  and  considered 
thenceforth  as  a  free  and  independent  government."  The  second  article 
declares  that. the  British  government  has  no  alliance  whatever  with 
any  native  chiefs  or  tribes  north  of  the  Orange  River,  with  the  exception 
of  one  whose  case  is  afterwards  dealt  with.  It  is,  moreover,  asserted 
that  this  government  has  no  wish  or  intention  to  form  any  treaties 
"which  may  be  injurious  or  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  Orange 
River  government."  The  seventh  article  declares  that  the  Orange  River 
government  shall  permit  no  slavery  or  trade  in  slaves  in  their  territory 
north  of  the  Orange  River. 

Thus  did  Great  Britain  take  a  great  step  backwards,  not  merely 
resolving  to  push  no  farther  but  actually  to  withdraw  from  a  rich 
territory  and  a  prosperous  community  where  her  continued  exercise  of 


SIR  W.  HELY  HUTCHINSON 

Governor  of  Natal  and  Zululand. 


CONYNGHAM   GREENE,  C.  B. 

British   Consular  Agent   at   Pretoria, 


SIR  J.    GORDON   SPRIGG 

Late  Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony. 


MR.  J.  H.  HOFMEYR 

Leader  of  the  Dutch  Party  in  Cape  Colony. 


en 


a 

th 
CE 
w 

a 

- 
o 
en 


B  ^ 
3  §" 

ft       «J  U 

" 


« 

H     g^ 
be 

Oca  a> 
fe-o 
y        9 

=   xa 

5  °« 

O        3 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE.  57 

authority  was  freely  and  profoundly  desired.  This  is  the  second  in- 
stance of  British  withdrawal,  made  with  as  much  sincerity  as  spon- 
taneity, but  destined,  like  nearly  all  the  other  instances  which  we 
shall  have  occasion  to  record,  to  bring  forth  troubles  more  numerous 
and  more  perplexing  than  those  which  it  was  intended  to  ward  off. 

One  reason  why  the  fifteen  thousand  white  inhabitants  of  this 
territory  feared  to  stand  alone  wras  their  fear  of  that  powerful  Basuto 
tribe  wrhich  already  had  caused  them  so  much  loss  in  possessions  and 
in  valuable  lives.  Nevertheless,  the  little  republic  settled  down  to  its 
extraordinary  task  among  these  ominous  circumstances  with  a  courage 
which  proved  itself  indomitable.  The  British  government  has  never 
had  reason  to  interfere  with  the  internal  administration  of  this  country 
from  that  day  to  this.  The  Free  Staters  have  proved  themselves  both 
wise  and  firm,  and  good-hearted  citizens.  They  have  had  the  inesti- 
mable advantage  of  being  led  by  several  presidents  who  were  men  of 
great  ability  and  high  soul.  They  have  administered  their  affairs  with 
care  and  with  singular  success.  They  have  gradually  increased  in 
wealth;  they  have  paid  much  attention  to  education  and  thus  have 
earned  for  themselves  the  hearty  respect  and  good-will  of  their  former 
rulers — their  permanent  friends — the  British  government. 

Within  five  years  of  the  acceptance  of  their  independence  the  people 
of  the  Orange  Free  State  found  themselves  in  such  difficulties  that  they 
actually  petitioned  the  British  government  to  receive  them  again  into 
the  British  Empire,  annexing  them  to  the  Cape  Colony.  After  some 
consideration,  this  petition  was  finally  refused. 

On  only  two  occasions  have  the  British  government  and  the  Orange 
Free  State  found  themselves  in  serious  difficulties  with  one  another. 
The  first  of  these  events  occurred  in  the  year  1867,  when  the  Free  State 
found  itself  once  more  at  war  with  the  Basutos.  On  a  former  occasion 
the  Governor  of  the  Cape  had  intervened  to  save  the  Boers  from  the 
Basutos.*  On  this  occasion,  Moshesh,  the  Basuto  king,  finding  himself 
hard  pressed,  sent  a  message  to  the  Governor  imploring  his  interven- 
tion and  good  offices.  The  Governor  acquiesced,  much  to  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  Boers,  who  hoped  on  this  occasion  to  finally  crush  their 
inveterate  foes,  annex  their  country  and  thus  take  one  long  step  towards 
the  sea  coast.  It  was  one  of  the  ambitions  of  this  young  republic  to 


HS  THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE. 

stretch  its  territory  across  the  continent  eastwards  until  it  should  pos- 
sess a  seaport  of  its  own  and  become  one  of  the  States  of  the  world, 
with  an  international  importance.  The  Governor  of  the  Cape,  wit- 
tingly or  unwittingly,  shut  this  project  off  forever  by  making  Basuto- 
land  a  protectorate  under  the  British  crown.  Very  naturally  the  Free 
State  felt  a  bitter  chagrin  at  this  most  unexpected  move  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain.  They  could  point  to  the  words  of  the  second  article  of 
the  convention,  quoted  above,  and  apply  the  promise  there  made  to  this 
•case.  The  British  Governor  could,  on  the  other  hand,  very  fairly  argue 
that  the  protectorate  assumed  over  the  Basutos  could  not  be  proved  to 
be  injurious  or  prejudicial  to  the  interests  of  the  Orange  Free  State  as 
it  then  existed.  It  simply  made  impossible  the  scheme  of  extension 
which  was  not  in  contemplation  at  the  time  of  the  convention  and  could 
not  be  fairly  included  under  that  article. 

The  other  occasion  on  which  the  two  governments  clashed  with  one 
another  was  in  the  year  1869-70  over  the  discovery  and  development  of 
the  diamond  fields.  At  this  time  the  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State 
was  one  Jan  Hendrick  Brand,  who  was  first  elected  in  1865  and  was 
repeatedly  re-elected  until  his  death  in  1885.  He  was  a  man  of  high 
character,  great  ability  and  consummate  tact;  one  of  the  noblest  figures 
of  South  African  history  and  one  of  the  best  beloved.  If  he  had  not 
conducted  the  prolonged  and  sometimes  embittered  controversy  regard- 
ing the  territory  in  dispute,  worse  troubles  might  have  arisen. 

Elsewhere  in  these  pages,  the  diamond  industry  of  Kiuiberley  is 
described.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  the  first  diamond  identified  in 
that  region  was  found  in  1867.  In  1869  a  native  was  found  wearing  as 
a  charm  a  large  stone  which  is  now  always  known  as  the  "Star  of  South 
Africa,"  When  a  few  more  had  been  found,  it  became  evident  that  the 
region  lying  in  the  narrow  angle  between  the  Vaal  and  the  Modder 
rivers  was  diaiuondiferous  and  the  inevitable  rush  of  prospectors  and 
fortune  seekers  began.  No  railway  came  within  several  hundred  miles 
of  this  district  and  the  thousands  of  people  who  flocked  thither  from  all 
over  the  world  had  the  hardest  experiences  in  attempting  to  reach  the 
object  of  their  journey.  They  had  to  travel  either  in  wagons, -or  crowded 
day  after  day  in  small  coaches,  or  they  had  to  tramp  over  the  whole 
distance.  Of  course,  they  were  of  many  nationalities  and  of  many  varie- 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE.  59 

ties  of  character.  Camps  that  were  speedily  formed  at  the  spots  where 
diamonds  were  said  to  have  been  found  became  centers  of  the  usual  free 
and  reckless  life  associated  with  mining  populations. 

The  first  question  that  arose  had  regard  to  the  government  which 
was  responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  among  these 
camps.  Over  this  difficulty  the  British  government  came  into  its  most 
serious  collision  with  the  Orange  Free  State.  The  negotiations  were 
protracted.  At  times  they  verged  on  bitterness,  but  they  were  brought 
to  a  termination  without  an  open  rupture,  and  that  very  largely  through 
the  calm  wisdom  and  magnificent  self-control  of  President  Brand.  Of 
course  there  were  great  divergences  of  opinion  regarding  the  merits  of 
the  dispute  but  it  is  ever  more  widely  agreed,  among  those  who  have 
investigated  the  story,  that  the  Orange  Free  State  had  by  far  the  best  of 
the  argument;  that  the  British  governors  at  the  Cape  committed  a 
grievous  error  in  law  when  they  seized  and  occupied  the  territory  of  the 
Diamond  Fields. 

The  territory  uf  the  Diamond  Fields,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  lies  in 
the  narrow  angle  between  the  Yaal  River  on  the  north  and  the  Modder 
on  the  south.  To  the  north  of  the  Vaal  there  lived  a  Griqua  chief  by 
name  Waterboer,  who  employed  as  his  business  agent  an  exceedingly 
clever  European  named  David  Arnot.  Under  the  advice  of  Arnot,  and 
guided  by  his  skilful  diplomacy,  Waterboer  laid  claim  to  the  territory 
of  the  Diamond  Fields  before  an  arbitration  court  which  had  been 
constituted  to  settle  a  dispute  regarding  his  territory  on  the  other  or 
northern  side  of  the  Vaal  River.  The  arbitrator  does  not  appear  to  have 
investigated  at  all  closely  this  particular  claim  and  he  did  not  summon 
the  Orange  Free  State  to  say  whether  their  interests  were  involved  in 
it.  When  the  arbitrator,  Governor  Keate  of  Natal,  issued  his  award,  it 
was  discovered  that  he  had  assigned  to  Waterboer  this  territory  of  the 
Diamond  Fields.  Waterboer,  under  the  advice  of  his  agent,  immediately 
applied  to  the  British  government  for  advice  and  aid  in  the  control  of 
this  region. 

Now  the  Orange  Free  State  have  their  story  to  tell  concerning  this 
most  valuable  territory.  They  assert  that  it  was  bought  by  them  in 
earlier  days  from  the  Korannas,  who  had,  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
South  African  events,  conquered  and  driven  out  its  original  owners. 


150  THE  ORAXGE  FREE  STATE. 

This  purchase  by  the  Boers  appears  to  have  been  freely  acknowledged 
so  far  back  as  1850  by  the  British  Resident,  while  the  Orange  Free  State 
was  still  under  the  British  authorities.  Moreover,  it  was  afterwards 
proved  that  the  British  authorities  had  themselves  granted  title  deeds 
to  certain  farms  in  that  very  district,  which  were  filed  in  the  office  at 
Bloeinfontein,  the  capital  of  that  country.  Copies  of  these  deeds  were 
produced  by  President  Brand  and  shown  to  the  Governor  at  the  Cape. 
In  that  district  President  Brand  proved  that  a  hundred  more  farms 
had  been  allotted  and  their  title  deeds  likewise  filed.  Moreover,  a  mag- 
istrate had  been  appointed  whose  authority  was  also  understood  by  the 
Free  State  government  to  extend  over  the  region  where  the  diamonds 
were  discovered.  That  region  itself  was  almost  entirely  barren,  and 
hence  had  not  been  settled.  When  the  first  rush  of  miners  came,  the 
Free  State  authorities  immediately  sent  a  new  magistrate,  placing  his 
office  at  the  little  village  of  Pniel.  He  was  already  there  and  beginning 
to  exercise  his  office  when  the  Governor  at  the  Cape,  having  received 
the  appeal  above  mentioned  from  Waterboer,  sent  another  magistrate, 
appointing  him  to  that  very  district.  He  began  his  work  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Vaa'l  River,  but  speedily  crossed  over  with  a  band  of  police 
and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  on  the  Diamond  Fields. 

There  might,  of  course,  have  arisen  a  very  serious  condition  of  affairs 
if  the  Free  State  had  not  been  guided  by  President  Brand.  He  imme- 
diately issued  a  proclamation,  in  November,  1871,  characterized  by  great 
wisdom  as  well  as  dignity.  He  firmly  and  frankly  described  this  pro- 
ceeding of  the  Governor  as  an  hostile  invasion  in  time  of  perfect  peace 
and  a  violation  of  the  territory  of  the  Free  State,  but  he  at  the  same 
time  ordered  and  enjoined  the  officers  and  citizens  of  the  State  to  avoid 
any  action  which  might  lead  to  a  collision  between  the  two  countries. 
He  expressed  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  information  and  explana- 
tions which  were  to  be  placed  before  the  government  in  England  would 
secure  the  acknowledgment  and  recognition  of  their  rights.  The  British 
government  in  London  was,  so  far  as  regards  accurate  information,  at 
the  mercy  of  its  representatives  in  Cape  Town.  Accordingly,  the 
Colonial  Office  threw  the  responsibility  upon  the  Cape  government,  ex- 
pressing willingness  to  have  this  territory  annexed  only  if  the  Cape 
Colony  desired  to  possess  it  and  agreed  to  rule  it.  This  the  Cape  gov- 


THE  ORANGE  FREE  STATE.  61 

eminent  at  first  seemed  willing  to  do,  but  later  it  declined  the  responsi- 
bility. 

Here  then  was  a  strange  complication.  The  authorities  in  London 
agreed  to  take  Waterboer's  territory  if  the  ministers  at  Cape  Town  would 
annex  it  to  Cape  Colony.  The  colony,  after  hesitation,  declined.  Now 
the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony  had  already  taken  the  momentous  step  of 
sending  a  magistrate  and  the  policemen  to  occupy  the  territory,  practi- 
cally, on  his  own  responsibility.  He  therefore  found  himself  in  the 
unhappy  predicament  of  ruling  a  small  territory  which  neither  England 
nor  the  Cape  Colony  desired  to  possess  or  had  empowered  him  to  annex. 
But  such  a  step  is  more  easily  taken  than  withdrawn,  and  the  Governor 
proceeded  to  treat  the  Diamond  Fields,  with  the  surrounding  country, 
as  a  British  protectorate  under  the  name  of  Griqualand  West. 

Throughout  all  these  events  a  voluminous  correspondence  wTas,  of 
course,  passing  between  the  two  governments  at  Bloemfontein  and  Cape 
Town.  President  Brand  on  one  occasion  paid  a  visit  to  Cape  Townx 
when  a  new  Governor  had  arrived.  On  this  occasion  he  complained  of 
the  length  to  which  the  correspondence  had  grown,  and  in  illustration 
said  that  one  letter  alone  had  extended  to  a  certain  very  large  number 
of  paragraphs.  "It  must  be  a  very  poor  case,  said  the  Governor,  that 
needs  such  a  long  argument."  "But,  your  Excellency,"  replied 
the  President,  "that  was  your  own  letter." 

Curiously  enough  it  was  a  British  court  that  put  the  strongest 
argument  in  the  hands  of  the  Free  State  government.  It  has  been 
ever  the  custom  of  the  British  government,  when  it  was  settling  a 
new  country  and  found  conflicting  land  claims,  to  appoint  a  court 
with  full  power  to  investigate  and  determine  these  claims.  This 
happened  in  Griqualand  West,  and  one  of  the  conclusions,  to  which 
this  court  came  was  that  Waterboer  had  no  right  to  the  terri- 
tory and,  therefore,  that  no  claims  to  any  portion  of  the  land  which 
were  based  upon  a  transaction  with  him,  could  be  held  as  valid.  As 
soon  as  President  Brand  obtained  this  powerful  argument,  he  went 
straight  to  London  and  there  presented  his  case.  He  was  very  warmly 
received,  and  very  generously  treated.  But  when  it  came  to  deciding 
as  to  whether  the  Diamond  Fields  territorj-,  which  had  now  been  ruled 
by  England  for  six  years,  should  be  handed  back  to  the  Orange  Free 


02  THE    ORANGE    FREE    STATE. 

State,  practical  difficulties  arose.  The  population  was  equal  to  fully 
half  that  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  was  composed  of  the  most 
diverse  elements  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  forming-  a  community 
notoriously  difficult  to  control.  The  expediency  of  retrocession  was  at 
least  debatable.  The  British  government  finally  said  to  President 
Brand  that  they  desired,  without  attempting  to  decide  the  merits  of  the 
original  dispute,  to  pay  to  the  Free  State  a  solatium  of  ninety  thousand 
pounds  (about  $450,000.00).  President  Brand  does  not  seem  to  have 
struggled  very  long  over  this  offer.  He  accepted  it,  and  on  returning  to 
his  own  country  applied  that  sum  to  the  reduction  of  their  public 
debt.  No  doubt  the  Free  State  did  feel  sore  over  this  apparent  wrong, 
r»nd  the  gradual  discovery  that  the  Diamond  mines  were  worth  far 
more  than  was  anticipated  even  in  1870,  may  have  tended  to  inten- 
sify their  disappointment.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  con- 
sidered that  in  the  development  of  this  region  they  have  found  a  splen- 
did market  for  the  produce  of  their  splendid  farms,  and  that  it  has 
brought  to  them  a  large  increase  of  wealth  without  adding  to  the 
burden  of  their  administrative  responsibilities.  In  1880  Grequaland 
West  was  annexed  to  the  Cape  Colony. 

The  development  of  the  Orange  Free  State  after  the  settlement  of 
the  difficulties  about  the  Kimberiey  diamond  fields  was  on  the  whole 
characterized  by  steadiness  rather  than  rapidity.  It  was  the  policy  of 
that  wise  and  far  seeing  President  Brand  to  avoid  all  complications 
which  would  in  any  wise  drag  his  people  into  war  or  bring  disorder 
among  themselves.  In  1881,  for  example,  when  the  Transvaal  Boers 
were  preparing  for  their  war  of  independence  President  Brand  rebuffed 
all  overtures  for  co-operation  which  would  have  dragged  him  into  the 
strife.  Again  in  1887,  when  President  Kruger  came  to  Bloemfontein 
and  proposed  an  alliance  which  would  have  brought  the  two  Republics 
into  the  closest  possible  union  both  for  commercial  and  for  military  pur- 
poses, President  Brand,  in  whose  hands  his  Volksraad  left  the  decision, 
firmly  but  finally  declined  the  proposal.  Even  when  the  Transvaal 
President  offered  to  pay  the  sum  of  £20,000  ($200,000)  annually  for  ten 
years  to  the  treasury  of  the  smaller  and  less  wealthy  Republic,  the  stal- 
wart self-respect  of  President  Brand  thrust  the  temptation  aside.  The 
result  of  President  Brand's  generous  attitude  was  such  as  to  give  him  a 


THE    ORANGE    FREE   STATE.  63 

position  of  great  influence,  where  he  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  every 
statesman  in  South  Africa  and  the  ministers  of  the  Queen.  The  honor 
in  which  he  was  held  in  London  was  manifested  when  in  1882  he  was 
offered  the  decoration  of  K.  C.  M.  G.  by  Queen  Victoria.  This  he  had 
both  the  courtesy  and  the  strength  to  accept,  and  he  became  henceforth 
known  as  Sir  John  Brand. 

'In  commercial  affairs  the  Orange  Free  State  has  had  to  depend  on 
the  whole  upon  the  gradual  development  of  its  farming  system.  It  is 
true  that  a  diamond  mine  was  discovered  at  Jagersfontein,  but  it  has 
never  reached  large  proportions,  and  the  prospecting  craze  which  seized 
the  population  at  the  time  of  this  discovery  has  made  it  practically  cer- 
tain that  every  corner  of  the  land  likely  to  yield  diamonds  has  been 
searclied  and  found  wanting.  One  of  the  most  important  stages  in  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  this  plucky  and  peace-loving  Republic  was 
reached  when  the  railway  was  built  from  Cape  Town  and  carried 
through  to  the  Transvaal.  Customs  arrangements  were  made  with  Cape 
Colony  which  have  proved  peculiarly  favorable  to  the  Orange  Free 
State.  The  country  is  subject  to  the  affliction  of  recurrent  droughts, 
which  are  severely  felt  by  the  large  farming  population;  but  these  now 
produce  less  of  real  affliction,  owing  to  the  general  level  of  comfort 
which  the  people  enjoy. 

On  July  14,  1888,  the  beloved  and  honored  President  Sir  John  Brand 
passed  away.  The  Volksraad  immediately  met  and  in  the  following 
month  elected  Mr.  F.  W.  Reitz  to  the  presidential  chair.  It  was  this  Mr. 
Reitz  who  a  few  years  later  forsook  the  Orange  Free  State  for  Pretoria 
and  became  Secretary  to  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal.  In  recent 
years  there  have  been  repeated  quarrels  between  the  two  Republics  on 
the  matter  of  the  tariff,  but  these  became  finally  adjusted.  When  Mr. 
Reitz  resigned,  the  present  President,  M.  T.  Steyn,  was  elected  to  succeed 
him  in  the  year  1896.  Mr.  Steyn  is  a  son  of  the  land,  his  father  is  an 
honored  farmer  who  was  induced  to  send  his  promising  boy  to  Europe 
to  complete  his  education.  During  six  years  of  study  both  in  Holland 
and  in  London  President  Steyn  became  a  master  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion, gained  an  insight  into  the  larger  life  of  European  countries,  and 
returned  to  become  speedily  a  man  of  influence  and  a  maker  of  history 
in  the  Orange  Free  State.  A  solemn  treaty  had  been  formed  with  the 


64  THE  ORANGE  'FREE  STATE. 

Transvaal  in  which  each  state  promised  to  assist  the  other  if  its  inde- 
pendence should  be  threatened  or  attacked.  It  is  this  treaty  which  has 
dragged  the  Orange  Free  State  into  the  present  war. 

President  Steyn  all  last  year  (1898)  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
events  which  led  up  to  the  catastrophe  of  war.  He  it  was  who  helped  to 
secure  the  conference  at  Bloemfontein  between  President  Kruger  and 
Sir  Alfred  Milner.  At  a  later  stage  in  the  discussions  he  interposed  with 
a  striking  and  powerful  letter  of  protest  and  entreaty  which  he  sent  to 
the  British  Government.  In  this  despatch  he  wired  that  his  Government 
had  "done  all  in  its  power  to  obtain  a  peaceful  and  satisfactory  solution 
of  the  differences  between  Her  Majesty's  Government  and  the  South 
African  Republic,"  recommending  important  reforms  in  the  matter  of 
•the  franchise  and  representation  for  British  subjects  who  were  desirous 
of  becoming  burghers  of  that  Republic.  He  complains  that  while  the 
Boer  Government  was  trying  to  induce  the  Yolksraad  to  accept  the  sug- 
gested reforms,  a  change  was  noted  in  the  tone  of  the  despatches  ema- 
nating from  London.  "The  British  Government, — it  is  urged, — had  in 
fact  departed  from  the  basis  on  which  negotiations  were  opened — that 
of  not  interfering  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Republic.  The  request  for 
the  Joint  Commission  of  Inquiry  emphasized  that  fact  beyond  any 
shadow  of  doubt."  Still,  he  says,  the  Free  State  Government  persisted 
in  their  efforts  and  "once  more  advised  the  Government  of  the  South 
African  Republic  to  make  yet  another  concession,  and  to  give  yet  an- 
other proof  of  its  willingness  to  meet  the  British  Government  by  con- 
senting to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  British  Government  to  take  part 
in  such  a  Joint  Commission."  He  asserts  that  this  advice  was  adopted 
by  the  Boer  Government,  and  that  only  then  did  they  discover  that  the 
concessions  hitherto  made  by  the  South  African  Republic  were  unavail- 
ing. The  despatch  goes  on  to  assert  that  while  the  British  Government 
had  promised  new  proposals  it  had  persisted  "in  the  absence  of  any 
apparent  cause"  in  the  work  of  making  extensive  military  preparations 
in  South  Africa.  "This  Government  cannot  conceive  at  present  that  the 
points  of  difference  that  may  exist  on  this  subject  justify  those  extensive 
and  ever  increasing  military  preparations  being  carried  out  on  this  bor- 
der, not  only  in  South  African  Republic,  but  also  in  the  Orange  Free 
State,  and  they  are  therefore  reluctantly  compelled  to  conclude  that  they 


DUTCH    BOERS    OUTSPANNED 

The  span  of  oxen  has  been  taken  out  and  placed  within  the  inclosure  for  the  night.  The  Boer  trav- 
elers have  lit  their  fire  and  are  cooking  their  evening  meal.  They  are  tall,  straight,  powerful  men, 
accustomed  to  life  in  the  open  air,  to  physical  exposure:  some  will  sleep  within  the  wagon,  and  some  on 
the  ground  beneath  it  with  their  guns  always  within  reach. 


.THE   ORANGE   FREE   STATE.  67 

must  be  intended  to  secure  other  objects  at  present  unknown  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  this  State."  The  President  begs  therefore  that  no  effort  be 
spared  to  effect  a  peaceful  settlement  if  possible  of  the  points  in  dispute 
and  urges  that  pending  the  issue  of  the  new  proposals  which  were  being 
prepared  by  the  British  Government,  "any  further  movement  or  increase 
of  troops  on  or  near  the  borders"  should  be  stopped. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  history  that  this  despatch,  powerful  as  it  was, 
proved  powerless  to  arrest  the  course  of  events.  While  the  British  Gov- 
ernment was  still  preparing  its  new  proposals  the  Government  at  Pre- 
toria suddenly  issued  its  ultimatum  and  the  war  began.  President 
Steyn  then  published  his  "Manifesto,"  from  which  we  extract  the  follow- 
ing powerful  and  stirring  paragraphs: 

"Burghers  of  the  Orange  Free  State! 

"That  moment,  which  we  have  tried  to  avoid  by  all  means  in  our 
power,  and  which  we  are  driven  to  oppose  against  wrong  and  shameful 
oppression,  has  now  come. 

"Our  sister  Republic  north  of  the  Vaal  River  is  on  the  eve  of  being 
attacked  by  a  remorseless  enemy,  who  already  for  many  years  past  has 
looked  for  pretexts  and  has  prepared  for  the  act  of  violence  of  which 
they  are  now  guilty;  the  object  of  which  is  to  end  the  independence  of 
the  African  nation. 

"We  are  related  to  our  sister  Republic,  not  only  by  ties  of  blood,  of 
compassion,  and  of  common  interest,  but  also  by  a  formal  treaty,  ren- 
dered necessary  by  circumstances,  and  we  are  bound  to  assist  them 
whenever  they  should  be  unlawfully  attacked,  which,  alas,  we  heave  had 
reason  to  expect  for  a  long  time  already. 

"We  therefore  cannot  tolerate  that  wrong  to  be  done  to  them,  and 
our  own  liberty,  acquired  at  so  high  a  price,  to  be  endangered,  but  are  as 
men  bound  to  oppose  it;  trusting  in  the  Almighty  Lord,  in  the  firm  belief 
that  He  will  never  suffer  wrong  and  injustice  to  triumph,  and  confiding 
in  our  good  right  in  the  eyes  of  Him  and  all  the  world. 

"Thus  if  we  oppose  a  mighty  enemy,  with  whom  we  have  always  been 
desirous  of  living  in  friendship,  in  spite  of  wrong  and  injustice  suffered 
from  them  in  the  past,  we  solemnly  declare,  in  the  presence  of  the  Al- 
mighty Lord,  that  we  are  driven  to  do  so  through  the  wrong  done  to  our 


68  THE    ORANGE   FREE   STATE. 

relations,  and  through  the  knowledge  that  the  end  of  .their  independence 
will  render  insignificant  our  own  existence  as  an  independent  nation, 
and  that  their  fate,  should  they  have  to  fall  before  an  overwhelming 
force,  will  involve  us,  too,  in  a  short  time. 

"Solemn  treaties  have  been  of  no  avail  to  our  sister  Republic  against 
annexation,  against  conspiracy,  against  claims  of  a  suzerainty  no  longer 
existing,  against  constant  oppression  and  meddling  with  their  affairs, 
and  now  against  a  repeated  attack,  the  sole  object  of  which  is  their 
ruin." 

Then  follows  a  statement  of  the  grievances  which  the  Orange  Free 
State  feels  itself  to  have  received  from  the  British  Government  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Basuto  quarrels.  This  leads  to  an  important  statement 
regarding  the  franchise  question  which  cannot  but  make  the  reader 
wonder  how  far  President  Steyn  had  been  sincere  and  earnest  when  he 
was  urging  President  Kruger  to  deal  with  that  problem  in  a  spirit  of 
compliance  with  the  demands  of  the  Outlanders. 

"The  consequence  of  this  claim  (i.  e.,  of  the  franchise  on  reasonable 
terms),  if  acquiesced  in,  will  be  that  from  those  or  their  ancestors,  who 
have  saved  the  country  from  barbarism  and  have  opened  it  to  civiliza- 
tion and  light  with  their  blood  and  their  tears,  will  be  taken  away  the 
measure  of  control  over  the  affairs  of  their  country  to  which  they  are 
entitled  according  to  Divine  and  human  laws;  and  that  an  excess  of 
power  will  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  those  who,  foreigners  by  birth, 
enjoy  the  privilege  of  emptying  the  country  from  its  most  important 
treasure,  whereas  they  never  evinced  any  loyalty  but  to  a  foreign  Gov- 
ernment.. Moreover,  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  giving  way  to 
these  claims  would  be  that  the  independence  of  the  country,  as  also  their 
autonomy  and  sovereignty,  would  be  irreparably  lost." 

Two  short  paragraphs  cast  the  blame  of  the  war  upon  Britain's  move- 
ments of  her  troops  and  her  diplomacy.  And  the  manifesto  concludes  as 
follows: 

"On  their  heads  be  the  blood,  and  may  an  equitable  Providence  pun 
ish  those  who  deserve  it  by  their  acts. 

"Burghers  of  the  Orange  Free  State!    Rise  to  a  man  against  the  op- 


THE   ORANGE   FREE   STATE.  69 

pressor  and  violator  of  justice.  Let  none  of  your  deeds  in  the  war,  to 
which  we  are  forced  now,  be  such  as  would  not  beseem  a  Christian  and 
burgher  of  the  Orange  Free  State. 

"Let  us  trust  for  a  favorable  end  to  this  war,  relying  upon  the  aid  of 
Him  without  whose  assistance  human  arms  are  of  no  avail  whatever. 
May  He  bless  our  arms.  Under  His  banner  we  go  to  the  war  for 

Liberty  and  for  Fatherland. 

"These  passed  under  my  hand  and  the  Grand  Seal  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  at  Bloemfontein.  (Signed)  M.  T.  Steyn, 

"State's  President" 


CHAPTER  V. 
ZULULAND. 

THIS  name  is  given  to  a  narrow  strip  of  territory  which  lies  on 
the  northern  borders  of  Xatal  between  the  southeastern 
border  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  sea  coast.  It  runs  north  until  it 
borders  with  Tongaland,  a  small  territory  which  again  borders  with  the 
Portuguese  territory.  The  general  geographical  features  of  Zululand 
are  much  the  same  as  those  of  Natal.  The  name  is  derived  from  the  race 
which  inhabits  it,  and  they  derive  their  name  Zulu,  according  to  some 
authorities,  from  one  of  their  early  chiefs  whose  name  was  Zulu.  As  the 
Zulus  have,  more  than  any  other  South  African  race  except  the  Basuto*. 
made  history  in  South  Africa,  it  is  worth  while  to  describe  them  and 
their  political  relations  and  influences  during  this  century. 

The  remarkable  and  unique  thoroughness  of  their  organization  as  a 
military  tribe  has  been  traced  back  to  one  man,  Dingiswayo,  the  chief  of 
another  tribe.  This  man  belonged  to  the  Tetwa  tribe  and  was  an  exile 
in  Cape  Colony  during  the  years  1793-1799.  There  he  closely  observed 
the  military  drill  of  the  Dutch  soldiers  and  noticed  how  their  thorough 
discipline  gave  them  enormous  power  when  fighting  against  much  larger 
forces  of  undrilled  and  undisciplined  native  opponents.  When  he  re- 
turned to  his  own  people  it  was  with  the  resolve  to  adapt  to  their  posi- 
tion and  weapons  the  ideas  of  drill  and  discipline  which  he  had  imbibed. 
While  he  was  thus  perfecting  the  organization  of  his  tribe  there  came  to 
him  a  young  man,  a  refugee  from  the  Zulus,  who  lived  north  of  the 
Tugela  River.  This  young  man,  Chaka  by  name,  born  about  the  year 
1787,  had  fled  with  his  mother  from  the  anger  of  his  father,  the  chief  of 
the  Zulus.  He  lived  with  Dingiswayo  and  under  his  instruction  learned 
the  principles  which  that  leader  was  applying  to  the  development  of  his 
people.  When  Chaka's  father  died  the  young  man  at  once  returned  to 
his  own  tribe,  seized  the  kingship  and  on  receiving  a  portion  of  the 
Tetwa  tribe,  who  had  become  attached  to  him  and  resolved  to  become 

70 


ZULU  LAND.  71 

members  of  his  tribe,  set  himself  with  their  aid  to  apply  to  the  Zulus  the 
principles  of  military  organization  and  warfare  which  he  had  learned 
from  Dingiswayo.  Being  a  man  of  extraordinary  vigor  and  organizing 
genius,  and  bent  upon  the  extension  of  the  power  of  his  people  over  as 
vast  a  region  as  possible,  and  having  adopted  .certain  plans  which  stead- 
ily increased  his  power,  Chaka  very  speedily  made  himself  a  name  of 
terror  almost  throughout  South  Africa.  One  of  the  fundamental  rules 
of  his  kingship  was  not  to  leave  the  people  whom  he  conquered  to  enjoy 
their  independence,  nor  utterly  to  destroy  them,  but  as  thoroughly  as 
possible  to  incorporate  them  with  his  own  tribe.  In  many  instances  this 
necessitated  the  killing  of  all  the  adults  and  the  absorption  only  of  the 
young.  In  some  cases,  especially  in  the  earlier  period  of  his  history, 
whole  tribes  were  sometimes  thus  incorporated  where  the  adults  were 
willing  to  come  completely  under  his  sway,  and  were  likely  to  prove  effi- 
cient warriors. 

It  was  from  his  kingdom  that  there  went  out  one  day  a  young  officer, 
Moselekatse,  who  crossed  the  Drakensberg  Mountains  with  some  of 
Chaka's  regiments,  and  finding  that  these  regiments  had  formed  a  deep 
devotion  to  himself,  resolved  not  to  return  to  Chaka,  but  to  set  up  a  Zulu 
kingdom  for  himself.  It  was  Moselekatse  who  depopulated  such  a  large 
portion  of  the  Transvaal  and  then,  partly  as  the  result  of  the  Boer  in- 
vasion, moved  northwards  beyond  the  Limpopo  River  till  he  settled  in 
the  region  called  Matebeleland.  Of  him  and  his  tribe  we  speak  else- 
where, but  as  the  organization  was  practically  identical  writh  that  of 
Chaka's  it  may  be  best  to  take  from  the  pages  of  a  competent  observer 
the  following  description  of  a  Zulu  chief  and  his  relations  to  his  tribe: 

"Zulu  society  may  be  said  to  exist  for  the  chief.  His  claims  are  su- 
preme and  unquestioned.  To  him  belongs  every  person  and  everything 
in  the  country.  The  droves  of  cattle  which  you  meet  in  every  part  of 
the  country  belong  to  the  chief;  and  if  one  dies  he  is  informed  of  it.  The 
herd-boy  who  follows  the  cattle,  and  his  master  who  lives  in  the  adjoin- 
ing town,  belong  alike  to  the  chief.  The  troops  of  girls  who  rush  out 
from  every  Zulu  town  to  see  the  passing  wagons  belong  all  of  them  to 
the  chief;  the  immensely  fat  women  who  slowly  follow  are  introduced  to 
the  traveler  as  the  wives  of  Moselekatse.  The  chiefs  officers  or  head 
men  may  indeed  possess  private  property;  but  the  chief  has  only  to  raise 


72  ZCLCLAXD. 

his  finger  and  their  goods  are  confiscated  and  they  themselves  put  to 
death. 

"The  head  men  lead  perhaps  the  most  wretched  lives  under  this 
wretched  government.  The  private  soldier  has  little  in  possession  or 
enjoyment,  but  he  has  also  little  care.  The  officer,  on  the  other  hand, 
knows  that  jealous  eyes  are  upon  him.  His  equals  in  rank  and  station 
covet  his  possessions,  and  regard  the  favors  which  he  receives  from  the 
chief  as  so  much  personal  loss  to  themselves.  Therefore  the  head  men 
are  continually  plotting  and  counter-plotting  against  one  another.  'We 
never  know/  whispered  one  of  them  to  me,  having  first  looked  carefully 
around  to  see  if  we  were  quite  alone,  'we  never  know  when  we  enter  our 
house  at  night  if  we  shall  again  look  upon  the  light  of  the  sun.'  As  a 
matter  of  fact  such  men  seldom  fall  asleep  sober,  they  every  night  call  in 
the  aid  of  boyala  (beer)  to  deepen  their  slumbers.  One  day  a  small  wiry 
man  was  introduced  to  me  at  Inyate  by  one  of  the  missionaries.  He  was 
asked  where  he  had  been  the  night  before,  and  with  a  smile  mentioned 
the  name  of  a  certain  village.  This  person  had  sharp,  restless  eyes,  the 
thinnest  lips  I  had  seen  among  natives;  his  mouth  was  wide,  and  his 
teeth  large  and  wide.  I  was  told  after  he  left  that  this  was  one  of  the 
chiefs  executioners;  and  from  the  frequency  of  his  domiciliary  visits  he 
was  called  by  the  Matebele  the  chiefs  knife/  I  thought  his  face  befitted 
his  office.  Waiting  in  the  neighborhood  till  his  victim  has  drunk  the 
last  cup  of  beer,  he  gives  him  time  to  fall  into  that  stupor  of  sleep  and 
drunkenness  out  of  which  he  is  never  to  awake.  The  chiefs  knife  has  his 
assistants,  who  are  in  readiness  to  'mak  siccar*  any  bloody  work;  for 
M">elekatse  could  not  carry  on  his  paternal  administration  with  only 
one  'knife.'  According  to"  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  it  is 
nothing  for  him  to  send  in  one  night  four  or  five  different  parties  of  ven- 
geance, to  hurry  the  inhabitants  of  four  or  five  different  villages  into 
eternity.  .  .  . 

"The  captives  taken  in  their  raids  grow  up  in  the  service  of  their 
captors,  or  of  those  to  whom  they  sell  them  within  the  tribe.  They  herd 
cattle  in  time  of  peace;  they  carry  the  impedimenta  of  the  soldier  when 
he  goes  to  war.  At  home  they  practice  fighting  and  running  with  the 
boys  of  their  own  age;  in  the  field  they  are  familiarized  with  deeds  of 
blood.  Their  physical  frame  thus  becomes  more  fully  developed  than  if 


ZULULAND.  73 

they  had  grown  up  in  their  own  unwarlike  and  ill-fed  tribes.  I  have 
seen  children  of  Bushmen  among  the  Matebele  whose  personal  appear- 
ance formed  a  perfect  contrast  to  their  ill-favored  relatives  in  the  desert. 
As  the  captive  boys  grow  older  they  become  impatient  of  the  restraints 
of  their  position,  and  laying  their  heads  together,  all  living  in  a  certain 
town  march  off  in  a  body  to  the  chiefs  quarters  and  present  their  peti- 
tion to  Moselekatse:  'We  are  men,  O  King;  we  are  no  longer  boys;  give 
us  cattle  to  herd  and  to  defend.'  If  the  chief  approves  of  their  petition,  he 
drives  out  a  few  cows  as  their  herd,  and  gives  these  boys  in  charge  of  an 
experienced  soldier,  with  some  assistants,  who,  in  the  new  town  or  bar- 
racks which  they  erect,  proceed  to  train  them  as  Matebele  soldiers.  This 
is  called  to  'bota/  It  is  in  this  way  that  the  Matebele  army  is  supplied 
with  men. 

"The  new  military  town  or  regiment  is  called  by  the  same  name  as 
the  one  in  which  they  lived  as  captive  boys.  When  they  go  to  war  now  it 
is  as  a  company  of  that  regiment.  But  they  are  no  longer  baggage-car- 
riers; they  bear  their  owrn  weapons  now  like  their  former  masters. 
Should  they  succeed  in  killing  and  taking  captive,  they  at  once  occupy 
the  position  of  their  former  owners,  and  on  a  second  war  have  their  boy 
to  carry  their  food  and  water.  Should  they  not  succeed  in  killing  man, 
woman  or  little  child,  their  position  is  still  one  of  dishonor.  They  are 
not  men.  If  at  the  camp  fire  they  sit  in  the  presence  of  comrades  whose 
spears  have  drunk  blood,  the  latter  will  sometimes  show  contempt  for 
them  by  rubbing  their  portion  of  meat  in  the  sand,  and  then  throwing  it 
to  them  as  to  a  dog.  There  is  therefore  every  possible  inducement  to  ani- 
mate the  youth  to  shed  blood  speedily.  On  their  return  journey  from  a 
successful  raid  the  captives  are  during  the  night  tied  to  their  captors,  or 
to  trees,  to  prevent  their  escape.  Should  a  captive  fail  on  the  march 
after  his  master  is  tired  urging  him  forward,  he  stabs  him  and  leaves 
his  body  in  the  path.  The  Matebele  soldier-town  has  nothing  domestic 
about  it;  it  is  not  a  town,  but  barracks.  The  voice  of  the  infant,  the  song 
of  the  mother,  are  almost  unknown  there.  Only  after  some  signal  serv- 
ice does  the  chief  bestow,  as  a  great  reward  to  the  soldier,  a  captive  girl 
to  be  his  wife,  who  has  no  choice  in  the  matter,  but  is  delivered  to  her 
new' owner  as  an  ox  is  given  to  another  man,  whose  deeds  have  been  less 


74  ZULULAND. 

meritorious."  ("Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange  Kiver,"  by  John  Macken- 
zie.) 

The  result  of  this  policy  is  of  course  that  the  Zulu  people  are  now  an 
exceedingly  mixed  race.  Accordingly,  it  is  impossible  to  describe  their 
appearance  in  any  adequate  manner.  The  original  Zulu  seems  to  have 
been  of  a  reddish  copper  color  and  not  to  have  possessed  the  flat  nose  and 
the  very  thick  lips  of  the  negro  and  some  other  Bantu  tribes.  Accord- 
ingly in  Zululand  there  are  to  be  found  those  who  possess  the  basal  char- 
acteristics of  the  tribe,  and  those  also  who  are  of  a  jet  black  color,  with 
woolly  hair,  very  large  mouth,  very  thick  lips  and  very  flat  nose. 

Like  all  South  African  tribes  the  land  under  the  Zulu  ownership  be- 
longs not  to  the  individual  absolutely,  but  to  the  tribe  as  such,  and 
every  man  who  desires  a  location  on  which  to  build  his  kraal  must  go  to 
the  chief  and  receive  from  him  the  spot  which  henceforth  he  is  to  use. 
He  cannot  sell  it;  he  has  it  simply  for  himself  by  permission  of  the  chief. 
Hence  it  is  that  some  have  held  all  actual  deeds  of  sale  which  Europeans 
•have  alleged  as  having  been  transacted  between  themselves  and  indi- 
vidual natives,  or  even  between  themselves  and  chiefs  of  native  tribes,  to 
be  illegal;  since  the  law  of  the  country  has  alwrays  been  that  the  land  is 
inalienable,  and  that  every  man  occupies  his  own  portion  of  it  at  the  will 
of  the  tribe  through  the  chief. 

Having  received  the  site  of  his  future  residence,  the  Zulu  proceeds 
first  of  all  to  make  the  kraal  or  circular  pen  for  his  cattle;  its  size  will 
vary  according  to  his  actual  wealth  or  his  ambition.  Around  this  he  will 
build  his  huts  for  himself  and  his  wives  and  dependents.  Each  hut  is 
built  of  the  branches  of  trees  woven  together  in  a  cup-shape,  and  covered 
over  with  mud  and  grass.  He  shares  his  hut  with  whatever  fowls  he 
has,  and  reserves  a  portion  near  the  low,  little  entrance  door  for  his 
goats  and  calves.  It  has  never  occurred  to  him  to  build  a  separate  pen 
for  these.  The  Zulus  are  fond  of  ornament,  and  deck  themselves  out 
with  bracelets,  necklaces,  anklets  and  other  decorations  made  of  copper 
and  beads  and  whatever  other  materials  are  obtainable.  Their  habits 
are  lazy  and  sensual.  The  women  work  in  the  gardens,  oftentimes  carry- 
ing heavy  loads  in  harvest  times  as  well  as  their  children  on  their  backs, 
while  the  men  loaf  about  the  kraal,  or  go  out  hunting  or  sally  forth  on  a 
military  expedition.  The  men  care  for  the  cattle  and  do  the  milking  as 


ZULULAND.  75 

is  the  custom  throughout  all  the  Bantu  tribes  in  South  Africa.  No 
woman  dare  enter  the  kraal  while  the  cattle  are  there;  no  woman  dare 
interfere  with  the  duty  of  milking  the  cows.  This  strange  and  ancient 
custom  has  no  reason  for  it  that  the  modern  mind  can  discover.  The 
Bantu  man  himself  has  no  better  excuse  for  the  strong  and  binding  law 
than  that  he  is  afraid  the  women  will  drink  the  milk.  Such  a  custom  as 
this  no  doubt  had  its  origin  in  circumstances,  perhaps  thousands  of  years 
ago,  which  made  it  necessary  and  rational,  but  wThich  we  cannot  now 
discover  or  describe. 

The  superstitions  of  the  Zulu  people  are  innumerable  and  have  af- 
forded scope  for  much  investigation  by  students  of  comparative  religion. 
They  believe  in  charms  of  all  kinds.  They  carry  charms  in  the  form  of 
bits  of  wood  or  bone  about  their  necks,  which  protect  them  against  all 
kinds  of  evil,  from  the  bite  of  a  serpent  to  the  lightning  stroke.  They 
believe  in  the  fatality  attaching  to  the  movements  of  certain  birds  and 
animals.  If  a  hawk  or  a  turkey  buzzard  visits  their  kraal  or  sits  upon 
the  hut,  or  is  caught  iu  a  trap,  it  is  an  evil  portent;  it  is  fatal  if  a  cock 
crows  early  in  the  night  before  people  are  asleep;  if  any  four-footed  ani- 
mal jumps  upon  the  hut,  sickness  or  death  is  thereby  portended  for  the 
dwellers  there. 

The  chief  Panda  reigned  nearly  thirty  years  and  during  his  time 
maintained  a  remarkable  moderation  in  his  dealings,  especially  with  the 
neighboring  tribes.  Throughout  this  period  the  Zulus  counted  the 
colonists  of  Natal  as  their  friends  and  maintained  an  attitude  of  un- 
changing hostility  to  the  Boers.  The  Transvaal  Boers  had  gradually 
crept  down  southeastwards  from  the  center  of  their  territory  towards 
Zululand,  and  entered  into  various  treaties  with  the  Zulus.  One  treaty 
of  especial  importance  was  made  with  reference  to  the  use  of  a  consider- 
able strip  of  territory  which  the  Boers  considered  that  they  had  bought 
outright,  but  which  the  Zulus  afterwards  asserted  had  only  been  loaned 
them  for  purposes  of  pasturage.  It  is  said  that  the  Natal  people  were 
cruel  as  well  as  foolish  enough  rather  to  encourage  than  dissuade  the 
Zulus'  hatred  of  the  Boers.  This  was  done  for  the  sake  of  their  own 
safety.  Such  an  acute  observer  as  Sir  Bartle  Frere  when  he  came  to 
study  the  facts  at  close  quarters  was  amazed  on  the  one  hand  that  Natal 
had  remained  free  from  Zulu  aggression,  and  was  grieved  also  at  the 


76  ZULU  LAND. 

somewhat  selfish  attitude  which  Natal  had  assumed  in  relation  to  the 
Boers. 

Panda  had  two  sons  who,  as  soon  as  they  reached  manhood,  both  de- 
sired the  reversion  of  their  father's  position  and  power  as  king  of  the 
Zulus.  The  inevitable  contest  resulted  in  the  victory  of  Cetywayo. 
When  he  was  about  to  receive  public  recognition  as  the  heir  it  was  sug- 
gested that  Mr.  Theophilus  Shepstone  of  Natal  should  be  present  to 
recognize  him  as  the  successor  of  Panda.  This  Mr.  Shepstone,  the  same 
who  afterwards  carried  through  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal,  was  in 
many  ways  a  most  remarkable  man.  He  had  gained  great  influence  over 
the  Zulus.  He  is  described  as  a  silent  and  self-controlled  man,  with  a 
very  strong  and  determined  will,  who  curiously  combined  with  these  a 
strong  inclination  to  defer  all  disagreeable  action  and  to  trust  that  if 
only  a  temporizing  expedient  could  be  discovered  and  employed  for  stav- 
ing off  the  practical  solution  of  a  hard  problem,  time  would  bring  that 
solution  to  light.  He,  after  some  hesitation,  agreed  to  perform  this  office 
for  Cetywayo.  But  when  he  arrived  at  the  Zulu  capital  it  needed  all  his 
strength  and  heroism  to  face  the  angry  and  tumultuous  Zulus  who 
surged  around  him,  threatening  instant  death,  indignant  at  the  thought 
that  he,  a  white  man,  should  exercise  the  lofty  privilege  and  function  of 
nominating  the  future  king  of  the  Zulus.  Panda  insisted,  his  people 
yielded,  and  Shepstone  who  at  one  moment  had  been  threatened  with 
death,  found  himself  in  a  little  while  recognized  as  the  king-maker,  and 
therefore  as  in  a  sense  an  official  father  of  Cetywayo.  Henceforth  he 
was  known  by  the  latter  as  Father  Somsteu  (Father  Shepstone).  This 
unique  ceremony  was  completed  when  in  1873  Panda  died,  and  Shep- 
stone once  more  was  present  in  Zululand  to  install  Cetywayo  as  king  of 
the  Zulus. 

Cetywayo  is  described  by  a  remarkable  Norwegian  missionary 
(Bishop  Schreuder)  as  "an  able  man,  but  for  cold,  selfish  pride,  cruelty 
and  untnithf ulness  worse  than  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  has  a  curi- 
ous lack  of  gratitude,  and  will  never  acknowledge  the  slightest  obliga- 
tion to  anyone."  Whereas  his  father  had  been  of  a  kindly  and  merciful 
disposition,  Cetywayo  showed  himself  cruel  and  ready  even  to  torture 
those  who  became  the  victims  of  his  vengeful  wrath.  Cruel  practices 
that  had  been  dropping  into  disuse  were  revived  by  him.  The  number 


ZULULAND.  77 

of  people  who  were  annually  killed  in  his  own  country  steadily  in- 
creased. He  carried  on  the  horrible  practice  of  "smelling  out"  alleged 
criminals;  that  is  he  trusted  the  powrer  of  a  witch  who  was  often  in 
league  with  himself,  to  discover  not  only  actual  criminals,  but  those  who 
in  their  hearts  were  plotting  crime  against  the  king  and  tribe.  On  one 
occasion  the  horrible  massacre  of  young  women  was  so  atrocious  that 
the  Governor  of  Natal  was  compelled  formally  and  very  earnestly  to 
protest  against  the  deed.  The  answrer  which  he  received  from  Cety wayo 
opened  the  eyes  of  the  British  authorities  to  the  new  and  threatening 
spirit  which  Cetywayo  wras  introducing  into  Zulu  policy.  He  spoke  of 
the  matter  frankly  and  openly  asserted  that  it  was  the  custom  of  his 
people  to  kill,  that  he  intended  to  keep  it  up.  "I  do  kill,"  he  said,  "but  I 
do  not  consider  that  I  have  done  anything  yet  in  the  way  of  killing. 
Why  do  the  white  people  start  at  nothing?  I  have  not  yet  begun;  I  have 
yet  to  kill;  it  is  the  custom  of  our  nation  and  I  shall  not  depart  from  it. 
I  shall  not  agree  to  any  laws  or  rules  from  Natal.  .  .  .  Have  I  not 
asked  the  English  to  allow  me  to  wash  my  spears  since  the  death  of  my 
father,  Panda,  and  they  have  kept  playing  with  me  all  this  time,  treat- 
ing me  like  a  child?  Go  back  and  tell  the  English  that  I  shall  now  act 
on  my  own  account.  The  Governor  of  Natal  and  I  are  equal ;  he  is  Gov- 
ernor of  Natal  and  I  am  Governor  here." 

About  the  year  1876  and  onwards  it  became  evident  to  many  observ- 
ers that  a  far  reaching  movement  was  abroad.among  the  various  native 
tribes  in  South  Africa.  The  origin  of  this  movement  appears  to  have 
been  in  Zululand.  They  themselves  wrere  encouraged  when  they  heard 
that  in  the  far  north  the  native  tribe  of  Bapedi,  under  the  brave  chief 
Sekukimi,  had  repelled  the  Boers  and  that  the  Dutch  commando  had  re- 
turned disgusted  as  well  as  defeated  to  their  homes.  This  helped  to  con- 
firm the  self-confidence  of  the  Zulus,  and  the  ambition  of  Cetywayo  be- 
came inflamed  to  a  great  heat.  But  more  than  by  any  of  these  events 
was  Cetywayo  rendered  suspicious  and  hostile  to  the  British  by  their 
annexation  of  the  Transvaal.  Especially  was  he  amazed  and  embittered 
by  the  fact  that  his  own  "Father  Somsteu"  (Shepstone)  was  nowr  chief  of 
his — Cety  wave's — hereditary  foes,  the  Boers.  This  fact  made  it  certain 
to  his  own  mind  that  the  British  could  no  longer  be  at  the  same  time  his 
friends. 


IS  ZULULAXD. 

The  dispute  with  the  Boers  concerning  the  strip  of  land  above  re- 
ferred to  became  acnte,  and  at  last  in  1878  a  commission,  appointed  by 
the  British  Government,  attempted  to  investigate  the  claims  of  both 
parties,  and  to  reach  a  final  and  authoritative  conclusion.  It  is  said  that 
they  declined  to  consider  written  documents  as  legal  evidence  when 
those  who  formed  one  party  to  the  contract  could  not  read.  It  is  beyond 
dispute  that,  in  many  instances,  white  men  in  South  Africa  have  at- 
tempted to  filch  land  from  native  chiefs  by  getting  them  to  agree  to  a 
document  and  to  sign  it,  which,  when  read  aloud  in  a  native  translation 
to  the  chief,  stated  one  set  of  conditions,  and  which,  when  presented 
later  before  a  land  court  or  European  tribunal  of  some  sort,  was  found 
•to  contain  entirely  different  conditions.  Such  might  easily  have  been 
the  method  employed  in  this  instance,  and  the  commissioners  therefore 
shut  out  the  evidence  of  documents  which  Zulus  could  not  read.  Hav- 
ing heard  and  considered  the  evidence  of  both  sides,  the  commissioners 
decided  in  favor  of  the  Zulus.  Not  long  after  this  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  High 
Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  came  to  Natal  and  among  other  matters 
inquired  into  the  findings  of  this  commission.  He  was  disappointed  and 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  Boers  had  suffered  a  serious  injustice.  He 
attempted  to  atone  in  some  measure  for  this  injustice  by  warning  Oty- 
wayo  that  when  land  had  been  occupied  so  long  as  this  land  had  been  by 
these  European  farmers  they,  although  brought  under  his  authority  as 
chief  of  the  country,  yet  had  rights  in  their  homesteads  and  farms  with 
which  he  must  not  interfere.  Cetywayo  was  in  no  mood  to  receive 
advice  or  dictation  from  a  white  man,  and  he  ignored  this  warning  and 
advice.  His  soldiers  swept  into  the  disputed  territory,  the  farmers  fled 
before  them,  their  homesteads  were  set  ablaze  and  a  fair  land  became 
desolate. 

On  several  occasions  bands  of  Zulus  had  pursued  the  victims  of  their 
raids  into  Xatal  itself,  and  there  in  defiance  of  local  authorities  had 
seized  and  carried  them  off  to  be  put  to  death.  Protests  against  this 
were  made  in  vain,  the  chief  offered  to  pay  compensation  in  money,  but 
any  further  promise  was  declined.  The  result  of  their  attitude  and  of 
the  successes  of  Sekukuni  against  the  Boers,  as  well  as  of  the  peculiar 
uncertainty  regarding  the  intentions  of  Great  Britain  in  relation  to 
the  extension  of  her  South  African  dominions,  spread,  as  we  have  seen. 


ZULULAND.  79 

unrest  throughout  the  entire  region.  The  position  is  briefly  summarized 
as  follows:  "Col.  Lanyon  had  written  in  May,  from  a  place  on  the 
Orange  River,  that  for  150  miles  of  his  march  thither  from  Kimberley 
he  had  found  the  country  deserted  and  all  the  farmers  in  laager,  the 
attitude  of  natives  being  insolent,  and  cattle  stealing,  accompanied  by 
acts  of  violence,  not  uncommon.  In  Pondoland  there  was  apprehension 
of  trouble  with  the  natives.  In  the  Transvaal  discontent  was  on  the  in- 
crease among  the  Boers;  and  Sekukuni,  who  had  successfully  defied 
the  Boer  levies,  and  was  closely  allied  with  Cetywayo,  was  ready  to 
break  out  again.  .  .  .  There  were  Cetywayo's  unwashed  spears,  a 
thunder  cloud  on  the  frontier.  Everywhere  the  outlook  was  stormy." 
("Life  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere,"  by  J.  Martineau.) 

The  main  fact  which  the  rulers  of  southeastern  Africa  had  to  con- 
sider was  the  mere  existence  of  this  great  and  ever-increasing  tribe, 
its  thorough  and  stern  military'  organization,  and  its  complete  sub- 
jection to  the  will  of  a  man  wrho  showed  himself  ambitious,  self-con- 
fident, and  who  manifested  the  conviction  that  he  could  overthrow 
the  power  of  the  white  people.  This  temper  began  to  express  itself 
in  definite  acts  which  he  knew  could  only  be  received  as  hostile  to 
Natal  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Transvaal  on  the  other.  Before  the 
award  of  the  commissioners  regarding  the  disputed  territory  was 
reached,  Cetywayo  sent  his  soldiers  into  that  region  and  drove  many 
Boer  families  away.  On  more  than  one  occasion  the  soldiers  crossed 
the  Tugela  River  into  Natal  in  order  to  capture  fugitives  from  his  own 
tribe.  These  invaders  secured  their  victims  and  carried  them  off  in 
spite  of  protests  of  the  local  Natal  authorities.  Remonstrances  from 
the  Governor  of  Natal  were  treated  by  Cetywayo  with  something 
amounting  to  disdain.  Those  who  know  less  practically  of  the  temper  of 
such  a  race  would  no  doubt  to  this  day  urge  that  pacific  measures 
might  have  maintained  peace,  and  that  it  was  better  in  any  case  to  stave 
off  the  evil  day;  but  men  like  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  the  High  Commissioner 
for  South  Africa,  who  had  behind  him  a  long  and  great  experience  of 
savage  tribes  and  who  knew  the  enormous  dangers  which  accumulated 
upon  the  heads  of  those  who  imagine  that  a  tribe  of  professional  war- 
riors can  consider  pacific  measures  as  anything  but  weak  compromises 
on  the  part  of  their  opponents,  were  and  are  probably  unanimous  that 


80  ZULU  LAND. 

sooner  or  later  the  Zulu  army  organization  must  have  been  faced  and 
beaten  by  British  soldiers. 

Exactly  the  same  story  was  repeated  some  years  later  in  Matebele- 
land.  Here  again  it  was  from  the  beginning  perfectly  obvious  to  those 
who  knew  the  facts  that  the  country  could  not  be  opened  to  European 
settlement,  nor  the  surrounding  territories  peacefully  inhabited  until 
the  military  organization  of  the  Northern  Zulus  there  had  been  com- 
pletely smashed. 

Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  a  man  who  loved  peace  more  than  war,  but 
who  also  lived  and  worked  under  a  high  sense  of  responsibility  and 
guided  by  an  experience  of  extraordinary  breadth  and  variety.  Cruel 
and  most  unjust  assertions  have  been  made  against  him  by  some  his- 
torians of  South  Africa  in  connection  with  the  Zulu  and  other  tribal 
wars  which  took  place  in  his  time.  But  a  reading  of  the  despatches 
which  he  sent  to  London  throughout  this  period  will  speedily  prove  to 
most  that  his  soul  desired  only  peace.  Those  documents  reflect  also  the 
sad  conviction  which  grew  upon  him  as  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
facts,  that  since  war  with  the  Zulus  was  inevitable  at  some  time,  the 
sooner  the  terrible  necessity  was  faced  the  easier  would  be  the  victory 
and  the  more  certain  the  arrangement  of  an  abiding  peace.  He  did 
not  create  conditions  which  made  the  war  necessary.  He  says  in  one 
of  his  letters,  "The  die  for  peace  or  war  had  been  cast  long  before  I  or 
Buller  or  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  came  here."  And  again  he  says,  with 
pathetic  emphasis,  "I  certainly  did  not  come  here  to  spend  the  fag  end 
of  my  life,  away  from  all  I  care  for,  in  setting  up  strife.  I  hoped  and 
still  hope  to  do  something  for  permanent  peace  and  good  government 
in  South  Africa,  and  should  be  sorry  to  be  regarded  as  the  evil  spirit 
of  war." 

Frere  resolved  that  in  sending  to  Cetywayo  the  announcement  of 
the  final  award  regarding  the  disputed  territory,  he  would  also  send 
him  a  demand  in  the  form  of  an  ultimatum  regarding  those  matters  of 
dispute  between  the  Zulus  and  the  Natal  Government.  In  this  ulti- 
matum a  demand  was  made  for  the  surrender  within  20  days  of  those 
who  had  carded  the  refugees  from  the  Natal  territory,  and  the  payment 
of  a  fine  both  for  those  offences  and  the  delay  which  had  already  oc- 
curred in  atoning  for  them,  and  another  fine  for  an  offence  committed 


ZULU  LAND.  81 

on  two  English  officials.  The  most  important  points  of  the  ultimatum 
consisted  in  a  demand  that  the  existing  military  system  of  the  Zulus 
should  be  thoroughly  reformed;  that,  for  this  end,  the  law  enforcing 
celibacy  upon  the  Zulu  soldiers  must  be  abrogated  and  the  men  allowed 
to  marry  and  have  homes  of  their  own;  that,  while  the  law  demanding 
military  service  from  every  member  of  the  nation  need  not  be  repealed, 
the  regiments  were  not  to  be  assembled  on  the  mere  will  of  the  king 
without  permission  of  the  council  of  the  Zulu  nation  and  the  council  of 
the  Natal  Government.  To  see  that  all  these  provisions  were  honorably 
carried  out  a  British  Resident  must  be  received  in  Zululand,  to  represent 
the  Governor  and  to  act  as  the  friend  and  adviser  of  the  king. 

These  demands  were  most  wisely  conceived,  whether  they  were  made 
at  the  right  time  or  not;  for  the  threatening  power  of  Zululand  con- 
sisted in  the  fierce  devotion  of  all  its  people  to  the  practices  of  war,  the 
ambition  of  every  Zulu  soldier  to  wash  his  spear  in  human  blood.  This 
spirit  could  only  be  changed  by  a  radical  change  in  the  social  organiza- 
tion of  the  people,  and  this  could  only  be  done  by  such  alterations  as 
Frere  demanded.  The  right  to  make  these  demands  undoubtedly  be- 
longed to  any  or  all  the  surrounding  peoples  to  whom  the  existence 
of  the  Zulu  army  was  a  constant  menace  and  a  source  of  unsettlement 
and  dread.  The  ultimatum  was  issued  in  December,  1878,  and  from  20 
to  30  days  were  allowed  to  the  Zulu  king  for  considering  and  obeying 
its  demands.  The  time  passed  without  any  action  on  his  part,  and 
there  remained  nothing  to  do  but  to  march  British  troops  upon  Zulu- 
land  to  secure  by  force  the  perfectly  righteous  results  which  could  not 
be  secured  by  persuasion. 

At  this  time  there  were  available  for  the  purpose  of  this  war  only 
about  5,500  British  troops.  The  Commander-in-Chief  was  Lord  Chelms- 
ford.  Before  the  war  began  Natal  volunteers  were  secured  and  some 
Basuto  troops  were  prepared  for  service.  The  authorities  strove  very 
hard  to  imbue  the  military  leaders  and  officers  with  a  sense  of  the 
peculiar  nature  of  the  war  in  which  they  were  entering  and  the  abso- 
lute necessity  for  adopting  plans  not  recognized  as  necessary  or  digni- 
fied in  European  warfare.  Boers  who  had  fought  in  the  famous  war  in 
1838  were  consulted  and  their  evidence  and  advice  was  printed  and  cir- 
culated among  the  troops.  Just  at  this  time  Mr.  Paul  Kruger,  after- 


82  ZULL'LAXD. 

wards  President  of  the  Transvaal,  was  returning  from  England 
through  Natal,  disappointed  with  the  efforts  which  he  had  made  in 
London  to  secure  the  granting  of  independence  to  his  country.  He  was 
consulted  by  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  who  brought  him  to  an  interview  with 
Lord  Chelmsford  himself.  We  are  told  that  "Mr.  Kruger  gave  much 
valuable  information  as  to  Zulu  tactics,  and  impressed  upon  him  the 
absolute  necessity  of  laagering  his  wagons  every  evening,  and  always  at 
the  approach  of  the  enemy.  He  urged  the  necessity  of  scouting  at  con- 
siderable distances,  as  the  movements  of  the  Zulus  were  very  rapid, 
mentioning  how  even  he  had  once  been  surprised,  and  was  extricated 
only  by  clever  hand  to  hand  fighting  inside  the  laager."  Kruger  at  one 
point  said:  "Ask  what  precaution  the  General  has  taken  that  his  orders 
should  be  carried  out  every  evening,  because  if  they  are  omitted  one 
evening  it  will  be  fatal." 

Alas!  these  efforts  to  bend  the  military  leaders  from  their  tradi- 
tional methods  or  to  draw  them  from  their  fatal  contempt  for  black 
enemies  were  in  vain,  as  we  shall  see.  The  invasion  of  Zululand  was 
arranged  to  take  place  from  three  separate  points,  which  of  itself  was 
a  bad  plan,  inasmuch  as  it  divided  up  an  already  small  force  into  three 
widely  separated  columns,  between  whom  no  communication  was  pos- 
sible. The  plan  was  that  they  should  converge  upon  Ulundi,  the  capital 
of  the  country  and  seat  of  Cetywayo's  power.  What  was  called  the 
headquarters  column,  commanded  by  Lord  Chelmsford  himself,  crossed 
the  Tugela  at  a  place  known  as  Rorke's  Drift.  Another  column  entered 
near  the  sea  on  the  east,  in  which  the  leader  of  the  cavalry  force  was 
Major  Redvers  Buller,  who  to-day  (January,  1900)  is  Commander  of  the 
British  forces  in  Natal.  Another  column  entered  from  the  northwest, 
under  the  command  of  General  Evelyn  Wood,  who  was  very  deeply 
indebted  for  his  own  deliverance  from  disaster  and  for  his  success,  to 
the  presence  and  advice  of  a  venerable  and  noble  Boer  by  name  Peter 
TVS  who,  with  his  two  sons,  fought  in  this  war  as  loyally  as  if  they  were 
members  of  a  Boer  commando. 

On  the  Natal  side  of  Rorke's  Drift  Lord  Chelmsford  left  about  a 
hundred  soldiers  in  charge  of  the  commissariat.  The  General,  having 
crossed  the  river,  pitched  his  camp  under  the  hill  called  Isandhlwana. 
In  forming  his  camp  he  ignored  completely  all  the  advice  which  had 


&    £ 


o  He 

E  ill 

W  S=  = 

U  -o- 

QJ  "-  ~~ 

Of  --2 


ZULULAND.  85 

been  given  to  him.  The  work  of  scouting  was  so  inefficiently  done  that  a 
vast  Zulu  army  was  able  to  assemble  within  striking  distance,  unno- 
ticed and  unsuspected.  The  camp  itself  was  without  entrenchments, 
the  tents  were  scattered  and  so  placed  in  a  hollow  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
that  if  an  enemy  attacked  the  front  only  one  mode  of  escape  was  pos- 
sible, back  to  the  river,  through  an  opening  in  the  side  of  the  hill,  called 
in  South  African  parlance  a  "nek."  On  the  morning  of  January  22, 
1879,  Lord  Chelmsford  left  in  the  camp  about  800  soldiers,  and  with  as 
many  more  moved  forwards,  hoping  to  attack  and  destroy  a  certain 
kraal  of  Zulus  a  short  distance  off.  After  he  left,  scouts  were  sent  out 
who  suddenly  came  in  contact  with  a  large  force  of  Zulus.  Firing  at 
once  began,  and  the  entire  Zulu  army,  amounting  to  more  than  10,000 
men,  rose  for  a  united  attack.  They  came  on  in  front,  rushing  in  great 
masses  upon  the  camp.  The  British  soldiers  were  scattered  about,  en- 
gaged in  all  kinds  of  employment;  their  ammunition  wras  not  within  the 
reach  of  all;  they  were  compelled  very  hurriedly  to  assume  the  defen- 
sive in  disordered  groups  wherever  it  was  possible;  a  few  of  them 
rushed  up  the  hillside  to  secure  a  retreat  through  the  nek  back  to  the 
river,  but  almost  with  the  swiftness  of  cavalry  the  right  horn  of  the 
Zulu  host  had  swept  behind  Isandhlwana  hill  and  met  them  at  the 
narrow  pass.  With  irresistible  force  they  now  rushed  upon  the  despair- 
ing and  disorganized  British  soldiers. 

A  small  band  of  brave  men  on  the  hillside  used  their  guns  writh 
terrific  effect  until  the  last  moment,  and  then  their  officer,  with  a 
fierce  sweep  of  his  sword,  leapt  upon  the  encircling  spears.  The  entire 
800  soldiers  were  put  to  death  in  that  horrible  pit  of  blood.  The  Zulu 
gives  no  quarter,  dreams  of  no  mercy;  every  man  who  is  a  foe  is  put  to 
death.  A  few  broke  through  the  crowds  and  made  for  the  river;  twTo 
especially  were  determined  to  carry  the  colors  of  their  regiment  safe  to 
the  other  shore.  They  reached  the  river  and  jumped  in  to  swim  across; 
the  natives  shot  one,  and  the  other,  missing  his  companion,  turned  to 
find  him,  as  if  his  own  life  were  valueless  where  the  life  of  a  comrade 
is  at  stake.  He  helped  him  to  the  shore,  and  both  attempted  the  oppo- 
site bank.  Exhausted  and  wrounded  they  could  run  only  a  short  dis- 
tance ere  their  fleet  pursuers  were  upon  them,  and  they,  too,  lay  dead. 


86  ZULU  LAND. 

The  colors  were  found  long  afterwards,  for  whose  honor  they  so  bravely 
fought  and  gave  their  lives. 

The  victorious  Zulus  made  of  course  for  the  Tugela  River,  and 
crossed  into  Natal.  There  they  came  upon  the  hundred  soldiers  on  the 
opposite  bank.  These  had  in  some  way  received  warning  and  nobly 
determined  not  to  flee,  even  in  such  an  extremity.  They  had  hurriedly 
made  a  rude  laager  for  themselves  out  of  stores  which  they  were  guard- 
ing; sacks  of  corn  and  packed  biscuit  boxes  were  piled  to  form  a  circular 
wall  around  them,  and  behind  this  rude  defence  they  awaited  the  tri- 
umphant and  blood-thirsty  Zulus.  On  they  came,  in  rush  after  rush, 
only  to  be  met  with  steady,  cool  and  accurate  fire  from  the  brave  little 
force.  Time  after  time  the  dusky  force  recoiled  and  at  last,  cowed  and 
afraid,  they  made  for  the  river  and  betook  themselves  to  their  own  land 
again.  That  heroic  stand  saved  Natal  from  being  overrun  with  men 
as  fierce  as  wild  beasts  and  worse  in  the  damage  they  could  do 

Poor  Lord  Chelmsford  returned  to  his  camp  only  to  behold  the  heaps 
of  dead.  His  force  actually  slept  there  on  that  fearful  field;  a  strange 
and  tortured  sleep  it  must  have  been,  full  of  startled  awakenings  and 
horrible  apprehensions.  At  dawn  they  woke  and  made  for  the  river. 
Back  the  discomfited  General  came  to  Pietermaritzburg,  worn  and 
sick  at  heart,  an  object  of  universal  pity  and  sympathy.  The  brave  and 
noble  Sir  Bartle  Frere  alone  presented  a  courageous  front  in  the  days  of 
gloom  which  followed.  All  Natal  citizens  were  thrown  into  indescrib- 
able panic  by  the  idea  that  Cetywayo  would  immediately  invade  the 
colony  and  overrun  their  farms  and  towns  with  his  cruel  and  irresistible 
hosts.  They  did  not  realize  the  effect  produced  upon  him  and  his 
soldiers  by  the  resistance  which  they  met  from  the  brave  band  of  less 
than  one  hundred  men.  Of  course,  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  send 
immediately  to  England  for  re-enforcements.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  tele- 
graphed to  all  of  the  nearest  points  where  British  garrisons  were  estab- 
lished for  help,  and  within  a  few  weeks  squadrons  began  to  arrive  from 
here  and  there;  the  news  spread  through  the  laud  and  up  into  Zulu- 
land  that  hosts  of  soldiers  were  arriving  from  England  to  take  revenge 
for  Isandhlwana.  Meanwhile  the  eastern  column  was  content  to  in- 
trench itself  and  await  developments,  especially  re-enforcements.  But 
General  Wood,  well  advised  and  courageous  at  heart,  on  the  northwest 


ZULU  LAND.  87 

pressed  on.  He  formed  strong  intrenchments  at  a  place  called  Kam- 
bula.  Here  on  a  hill,  from  which  a  gentle  slope  led  down  to  a  wide 
plain,  he  awaited  the  onslaught  of  his  self-confident  enemies.  They  came 
in  their  own  terrific  style,  with  yell  and  rush,  but  were  thrown  back 
time  after  time  and  at  last  returned,  baffled  and  ashamed,  to  their  indig- 
nant and  angered  king,  leaving  a  thousand  of  their  dead  upon  the  field. 

As  speedily  as  possible  Lord  Chelmsford  reorganized  his  troops  and 
once  more  entered  Zululand.  It  was  not  until  the  end  of  June  that  this 
was  possible.  With  scarcely  any  resistance  he  was  allowed  to  proceed 
as  far  as  Ulundi  itself,  and  there  the  final  battle  took  place.  Forming 
his  infantry  into  a  hollow  square,  with  gatling  guns  at  each  corner  and 
in  the  center  of  each  front,  writh  squadrons  of  cavalry  moving  swiftly 
from  point  to  point  according  to  the  needs  of  the  moment,  he  met  the 
onslaught  of  Cetywayo's  entire  army.  The  regiments  of  young  warriors 
were  allowed  to  approach  until  within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  and 
then  the  full  fire  of  the  lines  opposite  them  broke  upon  their  compact 
masses.  They  fell  literally  in  hundreds  as  they  came  writhin  a  hundred 
yards  in  their  impetuous  way.  When  the  fiercely  concentrated  hail  of 
bullets  struck  them  they  wavered  and  fell  back.  At  the  right  moment 
the  signal  was  given  to  the  Lancers,  and  they  charged  through  and 
through  the  panic-stricken  hosts,  scattering  them  to  the  wrinds. 

Cetywayo,  who  had  watched  the  battle  from  a  distance,  was  now  a 
fugitive.  The  enormous  kraals  which  formed  his  capital,  some  of  them 
measuring  500  yards  across  the  open  space  in  the  center,  were  burned 
to  the  ground  and  the  war  was  over.  Not  long  afterwards  the  king  was 
caught  and  taken  to  Cape  Town,  where  he  was  kept  prisoner.  This 
battle  took  place  on  the  4th  of  July,  1879,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  over 
Lord  Chelmsford  resigned  his  command  into  the  hands  of  Sir  Garnet 
Wolseley,  who  had  been  sent  out  from  England  to  take  chief  command, 
and  to  act  as  High  Commissioner  in  southeastern  Africa.  He  came  with 
full  power  to  establish  the  new  order  of  things  in  Zululand. 

Wolseley  was  a  man  of  undoubted  ability  as  military  commander, 
but  without  any  valuable  experience  as  administrator  of  native  terri- 
tories. He  was,  in  a  most  foolish  and  indefensible  moment  in  London, 
appointed  to  take  the  place  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  and  to  act  as  High 
Commissioner  for  that  region  in  direct  correspondence  with  London. 


88  ZULULAND. 

Wolseley  appears  to  have,  either  on  his  own  motion  or  actuated  by  sug- 
gestions from  home,  resolved  not  to  consult  Frere  regarding  the  future 
of  Zululand.  The  result  was  that  he  adopted  a  plan  as  ingenious  as  it 
was  foolish,  utterly  impracticable,  because  based  upon  no  experience 
of  the  facts  with  which  he  professed  to  deal.  He  proposed  to  break  up 
Zululand  into  thirteen  districts  and  to  appoint  a  chief  for  each;  he  gave 
the  chieftainship  of  the  largest  district  of  all  to  an  Englishman,  John 
Dun,  a  clever  and  kind-hearted  man,  but  one  who  had  lived  for  many 
years  practically  as  a  Zulu,  having  adopted  most  of  their  customs, 
including  polygamy.  This  degenerate  European  was  made  the  most 
powerful  person  in  Zululand! 

As  soon  as  Sir  Bartle  Frere  heard  of  the  plan,  he,  in  the  most 
courteous  way,  pointed  out  its  serious  effects  to  Wolseley;  but  his  advice 
was  received  with  ill-concealed  contempt.  Zululand  was  not  according 
to  this  plan  to  be  governed  by  any  European,  nor  were  Europeans  to 
be  allowed  to  settle  in  it,  and  the  Zulus  were  even  half  encouraged  to 
discourage  missionaries.  What  Frere  suggested  was  the  plan  which,  in 
1883,  on  the  complete  collapse  of  Wolseley's  plan  was  begun,  and  was 
fully  adopted  in  1887! 

In  1883  Cetywayo  was  restored,  but  soon  died.  His  son,  Dingizulu, 
had  to  fight  against  another  chief,  Sibepu,  for  the  succession,  and  in 
order  to  make  success  sure  accepted  the  aid  of  Boers  living  in  what 
had  been  the  disputed  territory.  He  promised  to  cede  to  them  a  large 
and  valuable  region  in  return  for  their  aid.  Of  course,  he  won  and 
became  chief.  It  thus  happened,  in  the  most  strange  whirl-i-gig  changes 
of  British  policy  and  foolish  alterations  of  purpose,  that  part  of  the  very 
country  which  Great  Britain  had  conquered  at  so  heavy  a  cost  of  men 
and  money  was  handed  over  to  the  Transvaal  Government,  at  a  time 
when  not  one  foot  of  that  territory  belonged  to  Britain,  the  conqueror 
herself!  As  a  formal  annexation  of  Zululand  to  Great  Britain  had  not 
been  announced  by  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley,  the  large  district  kuown  as 
Vryheid  thus  became  a  portion  of  the  Transvaal. 

In  1887  this  annexation  actually  took  place.  Something  like  the  verv 
plan  which  Sir  Bartle  Frere  proposed,  in  1879,  was  finally  adopted  and 
operates  with  the  utmost  ease  and  comfort  to-day.  The  country  is 
divided  into  sections,  over  each  of  which  a  European  magistrate  is  ap- 


ZULULAND.  89 

pointed.  The  Governor  of  Natal  is  also  Governor  of  Zululand,  a  light 
hut-tax  cheerfully  paid  by  the  Zulus  defrays  all  expenses  of  local  gov- 
ernment. The  Zulus  are  being  encouraged  to  accept  education,  the 
Christian  religion,  and  various  elements  of  civilized  life.  Their  country 
is  rich  and  productive,  and  the  ease  with  which  food  can  be  obtained 
tends  to  keep  them  lazy  as  well  as  cheerful,  unprogressive  because 
content. 

The  hope  of  Zululand  lies  in  the  work  of  Christian  missionaries  who 
have  given  their  lives  to  the  salvation  of  that  degraded  people.  For 
many  years  it  was  of  course  impossible  to  establish  extensive  missionary 
operations  in  Zululand  itself.  The  first  success  was  gained  by  the  Nor- 
wegian Missionary  Society,  whose  representative,  Schreuder,  began 
work  about  the  year  1844  and  won  his  way  to  the  approval  of  the  Zulu 
chief  by  means  of  his  medical  work.  Schreuder  was  a  man  of  high 
character  and  great  ability,  wrho  in  time  gained  the  complete  confidence 
of  the  Zulu  monarchs  with  whom  he  had  to  do;  so  powerful  indeed  was 
his  position  in  the  land  that  when  the  war  broke  out  between  Cetywayo 
and  the  British,  while  many  Europeans  had  to  flee,  Schreuder's  station 
was  left  untouched.  No  higher  tribute  could  be  paid  to  any  man's 
personality  than  that  one  fact.  Some  of  the  most  successful  workers 
among  the  Zulu  people  have  been  the  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions.  Their  work  has  been 
confined  until  recent  years  almost  entirely  to  Natal,  but  through  them 
principally  was  the  entire  Bible  translated  into  the  Zulu  language  and 
foundations  were  laid  for  an  extensive  system  of  Zulu  education.  To 
this  department  of  the  wTork  they  have,  with  singular  foresight,  paid 
very  earnest  and  constant  attention.  Through  their  normal  schools  and 
theological  seminaries  they  have  aimed  to  provide  a  comparatively  high 
type  of  native  evangelists  and  preachers.  Through  their  boarding 
schools  for  Zulu  girls  they  have  aimed  at  reaching  the  motherhood  of 
the  land.  It  is  from  these  educational  centers  that  the  strongest  in- 
fluences are  now  streaming  throughout  Zululand.  One  of  the  greatest 
names  connected  with  American  missions  in  Natal  to  the  Zulus  is 
undoubtedly  that  of  Dr.  Lindley,  who  gained  for  himself  a  very  high 
place  in  the  regard  of  the  European  and  native  peoples  as  well  as  of  the 
Dutch.  He  has  emphasized  the  enormous  influence  exercised  upon  the 


90  ZULULAND. 

native  tribe  by  the  advent  of  a  missionary  amongst  them.  It  is  the  con- 
verts to  the  Christian  religion  who  became  the  healthy  nucleus  of  a 
new  and  high  development  among  the  people.  Their  radicalism  in 
religion  leads  these  converts  to  break  away  more  easily  from  the  cus- 
toms of  their  tribes  in  other  matters.  They  most  quickly  adopt  Euro- 
pean costume,  build  square  houses  rather  than  huts,  use  tables  and 
chairs  instead  of  squatting  on  the  ground.  It  is  they  who  most  readily 
depart  from  native  methods  of  agriculture,  who  use  American  ploughs, 
and  thus  begin  the  healthy  but  remarkable  change  of  sending  the  men 
into  the  fields  to  do  the  work  instead  of  women.  It  is  they  who  begin 
to  protest  against  witchcraft  and  other  heathenish  and  abominable  prac- 
tices. It  is  they  who  have  learned  to  read  and  to  write,  and,  thereby 
gaining  great  power  in  many  ways,  stimulate  the  desire  amongst  their 
fellow-countrymen  to  gain  the  same  advantages.  It  is  not  unlikely  that 
with  the  enormous  increase  in  population  which  is  taking  place  in 
Zululand,  as  elsewhere  in  South  Africa,  the  problem  of  a  livelihood  will 
become  more  acute  than  it  is  at  present.  In  that  case,  when  men  must 
work  harder  and  a  new  energy  is  thus  infused  into  the  people,  it  will  be 
from  the  mission  stations  and  those  whom  they  have  influenced  that 
the  guidance  of  those  new  departures  in  history  which  economic  changes 
will  make  necessary,  must  be  provided. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
BASUTOLAND. 

BASUTOLAND  is  always  described  as  the  Switzerland  of  South 
Africa.  A  traveller  of  so  wide  experience  and  a  mountaineer  so 
intrepid  and  enthusiastic  as  Mr.  Bryce  goes  into  ecstasies  over  the 
glories  of  Basutoland  scenery.  "Its  peaks,"  he  says,  "are  the  highest 
in  Africa,  south  of  Mount  Kilimandjaro,  for  several  of  them  reach 
11,000  feet.  On  the  southeast  this  mountain-land,  the  Switzerland  of 
South  Africa,  faces  Natal  and  East  Griqualand  with  a  long  range  of 
formidable  precipices,  impassable  for  many  miles.  The  interior  contains 
valleys  and  glens  of  singular  beauty,  some  wild  and  rugged,  some 
clothed  with  rich  pasture.  The  voice  of  brooks,  a  sound  rare  in  Africa, 
rises  from  the  hidden  depths  of  the  gorges,  and  here  and  there  torrents 
plunging  over  the  edge  of  a  basaltic  cliff  into  an  abyss  below  make 
waterfalls  which  are  at  all  seasons  beautiful,  and  when  swollen  by  the 
rains  of  January,  majestic.  Except  wood,  of  which  there  is  unhappily 
nothing  more  than  a  little  scrubby  bush  in  the  sheltered  hollows,  nearly 
all  the  elements  of  beauty  are  present,  and  the  contrast  between  craggy 
summits  and  the  soft,  rich  pasture,  and  corn-lands  which  lie  along  their 
northern  base  gives  rise  to  many  admirable  landscapes." 

This  wonderful  country  is  the  home  of  the  Basuto  people,  who  now 
comprise  portions  of  various  tribes.  In  the  beginning  of  the  century  the 
region  was  divided  among  several  rival  tribes,  but  about  the  year  1824 
there  began  the  work  of  consolidation  under  a  young  man  known  to  the 
English-speaking  world  as  Moshesh.  This  youth,  wrhile  belonging  to  a 
family  by  no  means  of  first  rank  and  even  while  his  father  was  alive, 
displayed  extraordinary  gifts  of  diplomacy  as  well  as  a  warlike  courage. 
He  succeeded  in  bringing  under  his  control  one  set  of  people  after 
another,  conquered  some  small  tribes,  and  added  them  to  his  followers, 
and  then,  as  his  power  grew,  proceeded  deliberately  to  select  a  capital 
for  his  little  kingdom.  With  the  keen  eye  of  a  born  strategist  he  selected 
the  top  of  a  mountain,  overlooking  the  western  plains,  which  can  only 

91 


92  BASUTOLAND. 

be  reached  by  one  narrow  roadway  through  the  rocks.  The  top  of  this 
hill  is  a  flat  plateau,  with  its  own  supply  of  spring  water,  and  extensive 
enough  to  pasture  cattle.  It  could  therefore  be  hoped  that  it  would 
prove  impregnable  against  direct  assaults  and  would  be  able  to  with- 
stand the  trials  of  a  long  siege.  The  name  of  this  famous  and  hitherto 
unconquered  citadel  is  Thaba  Bosigo. 

As  the  renown  of  Moshesh  spread  more  of  the  native  tribes  of  this 
region  willingly  came  under  his  sway.  This  fame  was  much  increased 
by  the  cleverness  with  which  he  treated  Moselekatse,  the  head  of  the 
rebellious  Zulu  regiments  who  had  swept  the  Transvaal  with  desolation. 
When  they  attacked  Moshesh,  they  found  him  of  course  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  regiments;  but  as  they  retired  they  were  surprised  by  au 
embassy  from  Moshesh,  which  brought  to  them  provisions  for  their 
journey  homewards.  This  unexpected  appeal  appears  to  have  been 
successful,  for  the  soldiers  of  Moselekatse  never  again  attempted  to 
attack  Moshesh. 

In  1843  Moshesh  agreed  to  a  treaty  with  the  British  Government 
which  recognized  him  formally  as  the  head  of  the  Basuto  people,  and 
which  assured  him  not  only  of  the  moral  support  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment over  his  rivals,  but  also  an  annual  subsidy  of  £75  (about  $375). 
This  document  had  in  after  years  to  be  rescinded,  and  there  are  many 
critics  of  the  past  who  assert  that  it  was  a  great  blunder  thus  to  aid 
in  consolidating  the  power  of  a  man  whose  people  were  able  in  after 
years  to  do  great  damage  both  to  the  English  and  to  the  Boers.  It  is  a 
girat  question,  however,  whether  after  all  it  has  not  been  easier  to 
deal  with  the  Basutos  as  one  people  when  the  rational  process  of  trying 
to  govern  and  to  civilize  them  was  seriously  undertaken,  than  if  they 
had  been  left  as  separate  rival  bands,  each  having  to  be  dealt  with  on  its 
own  account. 

When,  in  the  year  1852,  Sir  George  Cathcart  heard  that  the  soldiers 
of  Moshesh  were  committing  depredations  upon  the  Boer  farmers  of 
the  Orange  River  Sovereignty,  he  proceeded  north  to  punish  his  un- 
faithful allies.  He  met  with  an  unexpected  reverse  when  he  had  come 
close  to  Moshesh's  seat  of  power.  No  doubt  by  pressing  on  and  adopting 
other  methods  of  warfare  he  might  have  pushed  the  war  to  a  satis- 
factory conclusion,  and  no  doubt  Moshesh,  if  he  had  been  a  shallow 


BASUTOLAND.  93 

pated  and  conceited  man  instead  of  a  far-seeing  and  cautious  states- 
man, would  have  remained  in  his  fastness,  and  for  long  have  defied  the 
onslaught  of  English  soldiers.  But  Moshesh  once  more  displayed  his 
diplomatic  gifts.  After  consultation  with  one  of  his  missionaries,  the 
well  known  M.  Casalis,  he  sent  to  Sir  George  Cathcart  what  has  been 
called  "the  most  politic  document  that  has  ever  been  penned  in  South 
Africa*"  It  ran  thus: 

"Thaba  Bosigo, 
"Midnight,  20th  Dec.,  1852. 
"Your  Excellency : 

"This  day  you  have  fought  against  my  people,  and  taken  much 
cattle.  As  the  object  for  which  you  have  come  is  therefore  a  compensa- 
1ion  for  Boers,  I  beg  you  will  be  satisfied  with  what  you  have  taken. 
I  entreat  peace  from  you — you  have  chastised — let  it  be  enough,  I  pray 
you;  and  let  me  be  considered  no  longer  an  enemy  to  the  Queen.  J 
will  try  all  I  can  to  keep  my  people  in  order  in  the  future. 

"Your  humble  servant,  Moshesh." 

This  letter  does  not  mention  the  reverse  which  the  enemy  had  sus- 
tained, but  simply  the  success  he  had  enjoyed  in  carrying  off  some 
cattle.  The  letter  very  prudently  requests  peace  and  confesses  wrong. 
Along  with  the  letter  a  message  was  sent  in  which  the  South  African 
habit  of  making  familiar  and  quaint  illustrations  was  employed.  "I 
am  still,"  he  said,  "the  child  of  the  Queen.  Sometimes  a  man  beats 
his  dog  and  the  dog  puts  his  teeth  into  his  hand  and  gives  him  a  bite; 
but  the  dog  loves  his  master,  and  the  master  loves  the  dog,  and  will  not 
kill  it.  I  am  ashamed  of  what  happened  yesterday;  let  it  be  forgotten." 
Inevitably  such  wisdom  secured  its  end,  for  Sir  George  Cathcart  was 
only  too  glad  in  such  a  pleasant  way  to  find  a  close,  so  soon  and  so 
unexpected,  to  a  campaign  which  he  dreaded.  Some  of  his  soldiers  and 
many  of  the  farmers  would  have  preferred  to  see  him  press  on  and 
punish  Moshesh,  and  no  doubt  it  is,  taking  human  nature  as  a  whole, 
a  unique  thing  to  treat  an  enemy  generously  if  he  has  defeated  you. 
Generosity  is  apt  to  be  mistaken  for  weakness.  But  Moshesh  was  not 
the  man  to  miscalculate  an  enemy,  and  he  knew  that  if  the  English 
chose  they  could  destroy  him  and  his  people.  He  therefore  accepted 
Sir  George  Cathcart's  compliance  with  his  letter  in  the  right  spirit  and 
boasted  not  that  he  had  beaten  the  English, 


94  BASUTOLAND. 

Moshesh  had  one  great  ambition,  which  was  to  push  his  territorial 
possessions  westwards  so  as  to  include  a  large  region  formerly  inhabited 
by  some  portions  of  his  tribe  ere  th-?y  were  driven  out  by  Moselekatse 
and  the  Boers.  This  ambition  led  to  depredations  made  upon  the  farm- 
ers by  some  of  his  regiments,  and  that  led  to  war.  In  this  war,  in  the 
year  1858,  he  pressed  the  Boers  so  hard  that  at  last  they  appealed  to 
the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony  for  mediation.  He  stepped  in,  persuaded 
Moshesh  to  cease  fighting  and  settled  some  of  the  disputes  about  land, 
taking  some  at  one  part  from  Moshesh  and  some  at  another  from  the 
Boers.  The  Boers  of  course  complained  that  they  had  got  the  worst  of 
the  bargain. 

The  peace  did  not  last  long.  In  the  year  1868,  after  the  struggle  had 
lasted  off  and  on  for  two  or  three  years,  the  Boers  pressed  close  to  the 
famous  citadel  itself.  On  one  occasion  they  had  actually  got  up  the 
narrow  footpath  and  within  a  few  yards  of  the  flat  plateau.  One  final 
rush  and  the  history  of  Moshesh  would  have  been  suddenly  closed,  but 
one  bullet  which  struck  the  leader  of  the  Boers  settled  the  matter,  the 
rest  fled  back,  the  attack  was  over  and  Moshesh  had  breathing  time. 
Now  it  was  his  turn  to  sue,  and  he  begged  the  Governor  to  intervene 
on  his  behalf,  as  an  earlier  Governor  had  intervened  on  behalf  of  the 
Boers  ten  years  before.  On  this  occasion  Sir  George  Grey  not  only  gave 
a  considerable  slice  to  the  Free  Staters,  thus  giving  them  a  reward  for 
their  long  struggle,  but  sought  to  make  an  end  of  these  border  disputes 
by  proclaiming  the  Basutos  as  English  subjects.  A  resident  was  ap- 
pointed and  Basutoland  entered  on  a  new  phase  of  its  history. 

In  1871  the  Imperial  Government,  in  pursuing  their  fatuous  policy 
of  retiring  from  every  direct  responsibility  which  they  could  possibly 
escape,  persuaded  the  Colonial  Government,  though  young  and  inex- 
perienced and  in  many  ways  unsuited  to  the  task,  to  annex  Basutoland 
and  rule  it.  The  Cape  politicians,  unfortunately  for  their  own  country, 
accepted  the  heavy  task. 

In  the  disturbances  to  which  we  have  made  frequent  reference,  dur- 
ing the  years  1877-1879,  the  Basutos  did  not  escape  the  infection  of 
restlessness  which  spread  from  the  eastern  coast^through  to  Bechuana- 
land.  When,  at  the  close  of  the  wars  in  the  southeast,  a  peace  protec- 
tion act  was  passed  at  Cape  Town,  whose  principal  measure  for 


BASUTOLAND,  95 

preserving  peace  was  the  disarming  of  all  native  tribes  within  their 
borders,  they  sought  to  apply  this  cure  to  the  Basutos  also.  A  few 
of  the  better  disposed  obeyed  immediately,  but  the  vast  majority  of 
the  people  considered  this  an  indignity  and  war  broke  out.  The  Basutos 
had  by  this  time  acquired  the  use  of  firearms  and  had  raised  a  race  of 
ponies,  always  known  now  as  the  Basuto  pony  in  South  Africa,  which 
enabled  them  to  move  with  great  rapidity  and  security  along  their 
mountainous  country.  They  were,  accordingly,  foes  of  a  formidable 
nature  whom  the  forces  of  Cape  Colony  were  unable  to  conquer.  The 
sorry  story  ended  when,  in  1884,  an  act  was  passed  by  which  Basuto- 
land  was  once  more  separated  from  Cape  Colony  and  placed  under 
Imperial  authority.  The  Home  Government  accepted  the  responsibility, 
on  condition  that  the  colony  should  help  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
government  by  paying  the  amount  of  customs  received  at  the  seaports 
of  Cape  Colony  upon  goods  going  to  Basutoland. 

The  British  Government  at  once  appointed  a  Kesident,  who  made 
his  abode  at  Masura.  They  were  fortunate  in  finding  Sir  M.  Clarke,  one 
who  was  supremely  fitted  for  this  difficult  post.  The  problem  before  him 
was  on  the  one  hand  fully  to  respect  the  authority  of  the  chief,  to  sus- 
tain him  in  the  exercise  of  his  office,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  gradually 
to  take  over  those  functions  which  had  become  too  complicated 
for  the  untrained  native  mind  to  exercise.  Some  white  men  were 
appointed  as  magistrates,  about  200  native  police  were  drilled  by  a 
British  officer,  and  these  dealt  with  all  cases  of  a  more  serious  nature 
which  occurred  amongst  the  various  sections  of  the  tribe.  But  the 
ordinary  tribal  laws  regarding  the  distribution  and  use  of  land  and 
minor  offences  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  chief,  who  thus  retains  a 
real,  though  limited,  sovereignty. 

The  name  of  the  present  chief  is  Lerothodi,  a  grandson  of  the  great 
Moshesh.  At  this  date  the  population  amounts  to  about  230,000  natives, 
with  more  than  600  Europeans;  the  latter  consist  almost  entirely  of  Brit- 
ish officials,  the  missionaries  and  traders.  No  European  is  allowed  to 
settle  in  the  country,  even  traders  must  obtain  license  before  doing  busi- 
ness there.  Some  suspect  that  precious  minerals  abound  among  the 
mountains  of  Basutoland,  but  all  investigation  is  strictly  forbidden  and 
relentlessly  prevented.  The  aim  of  the  Imperial  Government  ie  gradu- 


96  BASUTOLAND. 

ally  to  develop  the  Basutos  by  keeping  them  intact,  preserving  them 
from  the  disintegrating  influences  of  a  European  influx. 

This  splendid  experiment  has  been  splendidly  carried  out  during  the 
last  fifteen  years  with  the  utmost  possible  success.  The  sore  feelings 
left  by  the  struggle  with  Cape  Colony  against  the  indignity  of  disarma- 
ment are  passing  away.  The  native  respect  for  the  Queen  is  firmly 
fixed.  With  the  absence  of  war  more  attention  is  being  given  to  agri- 
culture, stock  raising  and  industry  of  various  kinds.  Many  thousands 
of  Basutos  sally  forth  to  Kimberley,  where  they  work  in  the  diamond 
mines,  and  return  home  with  their  wages,  thus  bringing  money  and 
increased  prosperity  into  the  country. 

Basutoland  has  been  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  mis- 
sionary enterprises  in  all  South  Africa.  .  When  Moshesh  heard  while 
still  a  young  man  of  the  advantage  to  be  obtained  from  the  presence 
of  European  missionaries,  when  perhaps  especially  he  realized  that 
they  might  stand  as  intermediaries  between  himself  and  the  Boer 
farmers,  he  petitioned  for  missionaries.  It  was  some  years  before  his 
request  could  be  met.  When  missionaries  did  reach  his  country  they 
were  Frenchmen  sent  by  the  Paris  Evangelical  Mission,  men  of  Hugue- 
not blood  and  tradition.  The  most  important  of  the  first  group  was 
Mons.  Casalis.  Moshesh  received  them  with  great  gladness,  and  him- 
self assigned  to  them  a  spot  for  their  station  on  the  rich  ground  beneath 
his  steep  and  rugged  fortress.  He  took  a  personal  interest  in  their 
work,  frequently  descending  to  their  Sunday  services  and  gradually 
coming  to  an  understanding  of  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion. 
He  himself,  however,  never  became  a  professor  of  Christianity.  He 
attempted  to  use  its  social  and  political  benefits  while  escaping  its 
personal  claims  of  a  more  intimate  nature  upon  himself.  A  character- 
istic retort  was  made  to  him  by  one  of  the  chiefs  who  had  become  con- 
verted and  whom  he  had  reproved.  "You  told  me,"  said  the  chief, 
"when  you  bade  me  take  care  of  the  missionaries,  that  I  was  only  to 
put  one  foot  into  the  church,  and  keep  the  other  out;  that  I  was  only 
to  listen  with  one  ear,  and  keep  the  other  closed;  I  put  one  foot  into 
the  church,  but  I  could  not  keep  the  other  out." 

When  Moshesh  was  in  political  difficulties  with  his  white  neighbors, 
his  trusted  French  missionaries  proved  themselves  most  valuable  ad- 


BASUTOLAND.  97 

visers.  They  earned  for  themselves,  as  so  many  missionaries  did  in 
other  parts,  the  hatred  of  the  Boers,  who  attempted  to  destroy  their 
stations  and  whose  wrath  against  them  was  so  great  that  when,  in 
1868,  a  portion  of  Moshesh's  territory  which  contained  four  mission 
stations  was  handed  over  to  the  Boers,  the  stations  had  to  be  abandoned 
by  the  Frenchmen.  The  French  missionaries  have  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing into  the  church  large  numbers  of  Basuto  people.  They  have  estab- 
ished  many  schools,  and  among  them  an  industrial  school  where  work 
of  a  high  grade  is  performed.  In  1897  there  were  23  French  Protestant 
missionaries,  16  main  stations  and  140  out-stations.  There  were  said 
to  be  no  less  than  1,500  adult  professing  Christians.  Prof.  Bryce 
records  that  at  recent  public  examinations  at  Cape  Town  "The  French 
Protestant  missionaries  sent  20  Boer  boys,  of  whom  10  passed  in  honors 
and  10  in  high  class,  the  standard  being  the  same  for  whites  and 
blacks."  "There  are  now,"  he  adds,  "150  schools  in  the  country,  all  but 
two  of  which  are  conducted  by  missionaries.  Some  of  these  of  course 
are  missionaries  who  have  been  sent  in  more  recent  years  to  Basuto- 
land  by  Roman  Catholic  and  English  Episcopalians,  but  their  num- 
bers are  few  and  their  power  as  yet  is  small."  ("Impressions  of  South 
Africa,"  by  James  Bryce.) 

The  history  of  Basutoland  during  the  last  fifteen  years  is  a  remark- 
able proof  of  the  wisdom  of  those  who  have  for  many  years  very 
strongly  and  persistently  urged  that  purely  native  territories  in  South 
Africa  ought  to  be  administered  by  Imperial  officers,  working  under 
and  responsible  to  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa.  If  Great 
Britain  had  60  years  ago  adopted  this  plan,  when  strongly  recom- 
mended by  Sir  Benjamin  Durban,  or  if  even  nearly  25  years  ago  it  had 
been  adopted  when  afresh  urged  by  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  with  all  his  ex- 
perience of  Indian  administration  to  strengthen  his  advice,  much  of 
the  saddest  side  of  British  history  in  South  Africa  would  not  have  been 
written.  The  British  Government  were  afraid  of  expense,  afraid  of 
difficulties  raised  from  time  to  time  by  the  prejudices  of  the  Dutch  and 
the  ambitions  of  the  colonists  in  general.  But  these  oppositions  would 
iong  ago  and  very  speedily  have  been  stilled,  if  only  the  policy  had  been 
clearly  grasped  in  London  and  had  been  consistently  carried  out.  He 
would  be  a  bold  politician  either  in  South  Africa  or  London  to-day  who 


98  BASUTOLAND. 


propose  to  change  the  political  relations  of  Basutoland,  and 
what  has  been  realized  in  that  country  might  have  been  realized  also 
in  other  territories  where  less  wise  methods  have  been  adopted  and 
where  difficulties  aj*e  yet  to  be  encountered. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
BECHUANALAND. 

THIS  word  as  a  geographical  term  is  only  of  comparatively  recent 
use.    The  natives  of  South  Africa  do  not  call  any  territory  by 
such  a  name.  Bechuana  is  a  racial  term  including  within  it  a  large 
number  of  tribes,  who  early  in  the  century  must  have  occupied  more 
territory  than  any  other  one  race  in  South  Africa.     It  was  they  who 
lived  in  the  best  parts  of  the  Transvaal  and  upon  whom  Moselekatse 
descended  before  the  Boers  reached  that  country.    A  few  of  their  tribes 
remained  in  broken  remnants  here  and  there.     Most  of  them  moved 
westwards  and  northwestwards. 

The  divisions  of  the  tribes  were  by  no  means  fixed  and  constant; 
kaleidoscopic  re-arrangements  were  constantly  taking  place  as  this  or 
that  village  waxed  or  waned.  For  example  the  Barolong  people 
included  a  number  of  tribes,  each  with  its  chief  who  had  headmen 
under  him,  and  among  these  chiefs  there  was  a  considerable  unanimity 
as  to  who  occupied  the  position  of  paramount  chief.  This  paramountcy, 
however,  was  a  matter  of  keen  contest  and  both  British  and  Boer  author- 
ities have  been  frequently  puzzled  therewith.  'The  Bechuanas  have  not 
gone  farther  west  than  the  Kalahari  Desert,  but  they  have  extended 
their  territory  all  over  central  South  Africa.  The  leading  tribes  have  ap- 
parently always  been  independent  of  one  another,  often  making  war 
upon  one  another  and  yet  feeling  a  certain  community  of  interest  which 
united  them  against  attacks  of  all  who  were  not  of  their  race.  Hence 
they  would  help  one  another  against  the  Matabele,  while  willing  enough 
to  quarrel  among  themselves  when  occasion  offered.  They  are  not 
on  the  whole  a  warlike  race,  rather  do  they,  in  contrast  to  the  Zulus, 
present  the  appearance  of  quietness  and  submissiveness.  They  are 
a  fairly  intelligent  race  and  have  produced  several  men  of  great  vigor 
of  character,  able  to  hold  their  own  even  against  the  white  man. 
Amongst  these  must  be  named  Montsioa,  who  for  so  many  years  pre- 
sented a  bold  front  to  the  aggressions  of  the  Boers,  whom  the  British 

99 


100  BECHUANALAND. 

Government  treated  so  ill  by  deserting  him  in  his  hours  of  need,  but 
who  yet  was  clear  sighted  enough  to  know  that  safety  for  him  lay  in 
coming  under  the  white  Queen's  rule.  Into  his  hands  loyal  British 
subjects  in  the  Transvaal  actually  gave  their  possessions  in  goods 
and  money  and  cattle  during  the  war  of  Independence  in  1881.  He  ful- 
filled his  trust  most  honorably  and  his  reward  wras  neglect  and  aban- 
donment to  the  mercy  of  his  lifelong  enemies,  the  Boers,  until  the  year 
1884.  Another  man  of  vigor  was  Monkoroane,  whom  the  humorou^ 
officers  of  the  Warren  expedition  loved  to  identify  among  themselves 
as  "Macaroni."  He,  like  Moutsioa,  stood  faithful  to  the  British  Gov- 
ernment on  various  occasions,  remaining  loyal  when  the  Boers  threat- 
ened him  with  destruction  if  he  did  not  side  with  them  at  the  time 
of  the  war  of  independence,  and  for  his  pains  and  loyalty  was  for  a 
time  deserted  to  these  enemies  of  his  by  the  Government  which  he  had 
supported. 

Truly,  it  may  be  said  here  parenthetically  that  if  any  people 
in  South  Africa  have  reason  to  complain  that  Great  Britain  has  not 
dealt  fairly  with  them  it  is  these  native  tribes  of  South  Bechuanaland. 
They  have  been  in  the  strange  position  of  always  feeling  and  knowing 
that  Great  Britain  would  be  their  best  protector,  and  finding  that  she 
repeatedly  disappointed  them  and  left  them  the  prey  to  their  relent- 
less enemies  on  the  east..  Another  of  these  chiefs  of  vigor  and  power 
was  Sechele,  whose  station  it  was  at  Kolobeng  that  the  Boers  attacked 
when  they  destroyed  Livingstone's  mission  premises.  Yet  another  was 
Sekhomi,  and  yet  another  his  remarkable  son,  Khama,  of  whom  we 
shall  give  a  much  fuller  account.  These  four  paramount  chiefs  prac- 
tically controlled  the  territory  from  the  Orange  Kiver  to  the  Zambesi 
River  for  many  years. 

Bechuanaland  came  to  be  used  as  a  geographical  term  probably 
from  about  the  year  1871  and  is  now  universally  understood  to  de- 
scribe the  region  occupied  by  the  tribes  owning  the  paramountcy  of 
the  four  chiefs  we  have  named.  South  Bechuanaland  entered  into 
British  problems  in  the  year  1877  and  caused  considerable  trouble  in 
succeeding  years.  As  we  have  shown  elsewhere  the  region  was  for 
awhile  placed  under  the  administration  of  Great  Britain  and  was  in 
1881  abandoned.  Then  it  became  the  scene  of  terrible  confusion  and 


a  ~s 

s  it 
Iff 

*  fe" 
o  2.2 
O  5^ 

fi    •"  . 

»rt  ** 


NATIVE    WIZARD 

This  may  be  the  most  powerful  man  in  his  tribe,  whom  even  the  chief  may  fear.  He  knows  too 
much,  he  knows  the  meanings  of  his  bones  and  the  secret  spells  by  which  disease  and  disaster  may  be 
hurled  against  the  foe.  He  can  "smell  out"  criminals,  who  are  generally  enemies  of  the  chief  or  himself 
and  who  are  done  to  death  at  his  word.  He  deals  in  drugs  and  poisons.  In  some  tribes  only  the 
wizard  and  doctor  is  allowed  to  wear  the  skin  of  certain  animals. 


BECHUANALAND.  103 

strife  through  the  incursion  of  freebooters  and  filibusters  from  various 
white  races,  but  almost  entirely  under  the  leadership  of  certain  well 
known  Boers  of  the  Transvaal.  In  1884  South  Bechuanaland,  which 
includes  all  the  territory  south  of  Mafeking,  was  proclaimed  as  a  British 
territory.  This  proclamation  was  followed  by  the  strange,  incoherent 
events,  which  we  describe  elsewhere,  connected  with  the  names  of  Mac- 
kenzie and  Rhodes,  and  which  came  to  an  end  with  the  Warren  expedi- 
tion. On  Sir  Charles  Warren's  departure  from  South  Africa  the  country 
was  placed  under  the  administratorship  of  Sir  Sidney  Shippard,  whose 
chief  and  most  onerous  task  was  that  of  instituting  a  land  commission. 
This  land  commission  considered  the  multitudinous  conflicting  claims 
for  the  best  farms  and  farm  lands  in  South  Bechuanaland,  and  endeav- 
ored to  do  justice  both  to  black  and  white  people  in  their  settlement. 
For  about  ten  years  the  country  was  known  as  a  Crown  Colony,  being 
ruled  directly  by  Imperial  officers  under  the  High  Commissioner,  and 
gave  promise  of  steady  development  under  that  political  arrange- 
ment. The  natives  were  proud  and  content  to  have  peace  and  to  be 
guarded  by  the  "white  Queen."  The  Europeans  settled  in  increasing 
numbers  upon  territory  that  was  so  highly  adapted  to  stock  raising  as 
well  as  to  agriculture. 

In  1895  the  happy  arrangement  was  disturbed  by  the  agitation  for 
annexing  the  country  to  the  Cape  Colony. 

The  Blue  Book,  which  preserves  the  story  of  the  annexation  of 
South  Bechuanaland,  represents  it  as  opening  with  favorable  petitions 
from  that  very  region.  These  petitions  recite  the  desire  of  the  signator- 
ies for  annexation  to  the  Cape  Colony,  describe  the  advantages  which, 
they  think,  will  accrue  from  that  step,  and  boldly  assert  that  it  had 
always  been  intended  to  transfer  the  country  from  occupation  "by 
her  Majesty's  Government"  as  soon  as  "the  Colonial  Government"  was 
prepared  for  annexation.  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  among  the  names 
of  the  signatories  are  to  be  found  some  of  those  who  took  part  years 
before  in  the  "Stellaland"  troubles,  Mr.  Rhodes's  friends  of  the  dark 
days  of  1884-5.  They  represent  distinctly  the  Afrikander  Bond  interest, 
and  the  documents  which  they  sent  in  were  redolent  of  the  spirit  and 
full  of  the  phrases  which  one  is  accustomed  to  find  in  the  productions 
of  that  remarkable  association. 


101  BECHU  AN  ALAND. 

While  these  petitions  were  being  circulated  for  signature  alarm  was 
taken  by  the  native  chiefs,  and  both  Montsioa,  with  48  headmen,  and 
Monkoroane,  with  100  headmen,  sent  in  earnest  counter  petitions 
against  the  proposed  step.  It  detracts  little  from  the  significance  of 
these  counter  petitions  that,  after  they  found  the  annexation  to  be  an 
inevitable  fact,  they  were  induced  to  withdraw  them  and  substitute 
the  statement  of  a  certain  number  of  conditions  on  the  fulfillment 
of  which  they  agreed  to  annexation.  Those  who  are  familiar  with  the 
manipulation  of  native  chiefs  at  once  understand  this  story.  Any  chief 
would  decide  that  when  the  event  had  become  inevitable,  his  duty  and 
his  interest  directed  him  to  make  peace  with  those  who  soon  were  to 
be  his  masters.  It  is  significant  that  the  petitions  in  favor  of  annexation 
were  arranged  for  and  sent  in  before  the  opponents  of  the  plan  could 
be  organized.  When  these  at  last  became  aware  of  the  dangerous 
move  that  had  been  inaugurated,  they  sent  in  one  petition  signed  by 
three  sets  of  men,  namely  Dutch  speaking  farmers,  English  farmers 
and  merchants  and  Indian  subjects  of  her  Majesty.  Their  petition 
is  much  more  powerful  than  those  referred  to  above.  It  states  the 
reasons  against  annexation  with  great  firmness  and  persuasiveness. 
But  they  were  too  late.  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  had 
already  been  in  constant  telegraphic  communication  with  London,  were 
pressing  for  an  immediate  decision  arid  had  got  the  Colonial  Office  so 
far  committed  that  withdrawal  was  practically  impossible.  Accord- 
ingly Mr.  Chamberlain,  who  in  this  summer  became  Colonial  Secretary, 
sent  out  a  message  to  assure  the  numerous  inhabitants  of  South 
Bechuanaland  who  desired  to  remain  under  Imperial  control  that  they 
were  mistaken  in  their  fears,  that  the  Home  Government  had  consid- 
ered all  their  interests  and  the  interests  of  all  South  Africa  and  were  con- 
vinced that  every  interest  would  be  best  served  by  handing  over  that 
Crown  Colony  to  the  Cape  Government!  The  last  steps  were  rapidly 
taken,  the  Act  was  passed  without  a  hitch  through  the  Cape  Parlia- 
ment, was  brought  with  surprising  promptitude  to  the  notice  of  her 
Majesty,  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  able  so  early  as  in  the  month 
of  October  to  announce  that  British  Bechnanaland  was  annexed  to 
and  henceforth  formed  a  part  of  the  Colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

No  adequate  reasons  have  ever  been  offered  for  this  change  in  the 


BECHU  AN  ALAND.  105 

circumstances  either  of  Cape  Colony  or  of  Bechuanaland.  Colonial  poli- 
ticians had  quite  enough  territory  and  quite  enough  native  problems 
to  discuss  at  Cape  Town  and  to  deal  with  on  the  spot;  the  addition 
of  South  Bechuanaland  to  their  responsibilities  could  add  no  wealth 
to  their  treasury  nor  glory  to  their  political  standing.  Nor  did  Bechu- 
aualand  need  for  its  good  to  be  transferred  from  the  standing  of  a 
Crown  Colony  to  become  a  portion  of  the  older  colony.  The  natives 
feared  and  had  good  reason  to  fear  the  change.  The  white  people  knew 
that  it  would  bring,  and  it  has  brought,  no  conceivable  benefit  to  them. 
But  in  spite  of  these  facts  the  measure  for  annexation  was  carried 
through.  The  fact  is  that  Mr.  Rhodes  had  his  reasons  for  desiring  it, 
reasons  which  bore  neither  on  the  good  of  Cape  Colony  nor  the  good 
of  Bechuanaland,  nor  any  peculiar  blessing  which  he  desired  to  confer 
upon  the  Colonial  Office  in  London.  His  desire  for  this  important 
and  hazardous  step  was  due  beyond  all  doubt  to  further  plans 
which  he  cherished  regarding  Rhodesia  and  the  British  South  Africa 
Company.  Already  certain  schemes  were  rapidly  maturing  in  his  and 
other  minds  with  regard  to  the  insurrection  at  Johannesburg  and  its 
support  by  Dr.  Jameson's  force,  and  these  could  not  be  carried  out  as 
long  as  Bechuanaland  was  under  direct  Imperial  control.  That  factor 
must  be  eliminated  once  more.  These  matters  were  in  those  years 
treated  by  the  British  public  at  large  with  silence,  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  many  earnest  and  far-seeing  men  in  London  and  elsewhere  who 
strove  to  have  the  truth  known  and  prevent  the  wrong  from  prevail- 
ing. 

One  of  the  sad  results  of  this  annexation  came  in  'the  war  which 
broke  out  in  1896  between  the  Cape  Colony  and  the  native  tribes  occu- 
pying the  western  portion  of  South  Bechuanaland.  The  history  of 
this  war  has  yet  to  be  fully  told.  It  was  the  direct  result  of  Mr.  Rhodes's 
"Colonial  Imperialism."  Suffice  it  to  say  that  it  ended  in  a  measure 
whose  significance  and  shame  the  British  public  has  not  yet  fully  appre- 
ciated. It  was  a  measure  which  could  have  only  been  carried  through 
by  men  determined  to  act  in  thorough  harmony  with  the  Boer  spirit 
itself,  a  measure  which  for  the  first  time  allowed  to  happen  within 
British  territory  what  has  happened,  and  has  been  by  British  authorities 
most  severely  condemned  over  and  over  again,  in  the  Transvaal.  That 


106  BECHVANALAND. 

is  to  say  the  natives  who  were  conquered  in  this  Langeberg  region 
were  carried  wholesale  into  Cape  Colony  and  divided  up  among  various 
farming  districts,  where  they  were  appointed  to  serve  farmers  for  a 
considerable  term  of  years.  This  barbarous  proceeding,  this  touch  of 
slavery  within  the  British  Empire,  is  of  course  an  unspeakable  disgrace. 
The  fact  that  it  has  been  allowed  can  only  be  explained  by  the  other 
fact  already  mentioned  that  it  was  carried  through  not  by  Imperial 
officers  nor  by  Cape  ministers  of  the  Imperial  type,  but  by  men  who 
were  under  the  dominance  of  the  Afrikander  Bond  and  who,  alike 
through  their  subservient  ministry  and  their  acquiescent  Governor, 
were  able  to  prevent  the  Colonial  Office  from  dealing  with  the  facts 
straightforwardly  and  abruptly. 

North  Bechuanaland  consists  for  the  most  part  of  the  territories  oc- 
cupied by  the  Bakwena  and  Bamangwato  tribes.  The  history  of  the 
latter  is  told  with  practical  completeness  in  the  account  given  else- 
where of  Khama,  its  powerful  chief.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  treaties  ever  proposed  was  that  which  Khama 
submitted  to  Sir  Charles  Warren  in  1885.  According  to  this  treaty  he 
offered  himself  as  a  subject  to  the  Queen,  and  he  resigned  to  the  Imperial 
Government  one  of  the  richest  portions  of  his  great  territory.  This  he 
proposed  that  the  Imperial  Government  should  allot  to  white  settlers  on 
terms  which  would  repay  the  Government  for  its  expense  of  administra- 
tion. He  claimed  for  himself  that  a  certain  portion,  which  he  described, 
should  be  reserved  for  himself  and  his  tribe;  within  this  region  his  tribe 
should  continue  its  own  history  and  he  himself  retain  his  chieftainship. 
This  remarkable  and  wise  offer  the  world  can  hardly  believe  that  the 
British  Government,  which  is  universally  accused  of  land-grabbing 
in  South  Africa,  ignored  for  many  months  and  finally  declined.  But  in 
the  year  1895,  when  Mr.  Khodes  was  working  for  the  annexation  of 
South  Bechuanaland  to  the  Cape  Colony,  he  was  working  also  for 
the  annexation  of  North  Bechuanaland  to  Rhodesia.  The  one  plan  can 
only  be  understood  in  the  light  of  the  other.  He,  as  it  were,  said  to 
his  friends  at  Cape  Town,  "I  will  give  you  South  Bechuanaland  and 
I  will  take  North  Bechuanaland,  and  of  course  if  we  are  only  deter- 
mined upon  it  the  old  fogies  in  London  will  give  way."  But  Mr.  Rhodes 
had  reckoned  without  his  host,  his  host  being  in  this  case  his  intended 


BECHUANALAND.  107 

subject  and  tributary  Khama,  chief  of  the  Bamangwato.  He  with 
great  enterprise  allied  with  himself  two  neighboring  chiefs,  proceeded 
directly  to  England,  and  there,  by  his  tour  through  the  country  and  the 
powerful  plea  which  he  personally  placed  in  one  great  meeting  after 
another  before  the  public,  produced  so  powerful  an  impression  that  the 
Government  did  not  dare  to  accede  to  Mr.  Rhodes's  desire.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  wrould  at  this  time  have  actually 
yielded  even  this  rich  and  magnificent  territory  into  the  hands  of  the 
hitherto  omnipotent  Chartered  Company.  But  as  the  well-known  tele- 
grams which  passed  in  that  crowded  Autumn  between  London  and 
Cape  Town  sufficiently  revealed,  Mr.  Chamberlain  was  pulled  up  by 
British  sentiments  in  favor  of  Khama  and  this  huge  injustice  was 
prevented.  It  will  need  all  the  alertness  of  those  who  stand  for  the 
right  to  prevent  this  wrong  from  being  yet  consummated.  North 
Bechuanaland  is  now  a  British  protectorate  and  a  Resident  lives  with 
Khama.  There  are  many  who  very  earnestly  hope  that  if  the  present 
war  should  lead  to  a  re-adjustment  of  territorial  conditions  in  South 
Africa,  South  Bechuanaland  will  be  once  more  separated  from  the  Cape 
Colony  and  united  with  North  Bechuanaland  in  one  great  and  truly 
Imperial  crown  colony.  This  colony  should  stand  between  Rhodesia 
and  the  Cape  Colony,  the  center  of  direct  Imperial  administration,  until 
the  day  comes  when  the  influx  of  a  white  population  and  the  civilization 
of  the  blacks  shall  make  the  granting  of  responsible  government  pos- 
sible. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
RHODESIA. 

TO  THE  north  of  the  Transvaal  there  lies  a  large  and  magnificent 
region  into  which  there  swept  about  sixty  years  ago  the  terrible 
regiments  of  the  Zulu  chief,  Moselekatse.  We  have  elsewhere 
described  the  ruthless  manner  in  which  this  people  destroyed  the  vil- 
lages that  lay  in  their  way  northwards.  The  tribe  gave  its  name,  so 
far  as  Europeans  are  concerned,  to  that  part  of  South  Africa,  and  it  has 
always  been  known  as  Matabel eland.  Eastward  there  lay  the  region 
called  Mashonaland,  inhabited  by  a  peace-loving  and  industrious  race. 
They  became  the  victims  of  annual  massacres  by  Moselekatse's  terrible 
regiments.  The  result  was  that  a  country  which  at  one  time  supported 
a  large  population  was  practically  denuded  of  human  beings.  Here  and 
there  villages  were  still  to  be  found,  inhabited  by  shrinking  and  terrified 
creatures  who  knew  not  the  day  nor  the  hour*  or  rather  the  night,  on 
which  they  might  not  hear  the  fierce  yell  and  irresistible  onrush  of  the 
dreaded  Matebele. 

In  the  year  1889,  as  we  have  described  elsewhere,  the  British  South 
Africa  Chartered  Company  was  established  by  the  British  Government, 
to  which  was  granted  administrative  authority  as  well  as  exclusive  com- 
mercial privileges  in  these  territories.  As  soon  as  the  charter  was 
granted  vigorous  steps  were  taken  to  begin  the  building  of  the  railway 
from  Kimberley  northwards,  for  the  erecting  of  a  telegraph  right  into 
North  Bechuanaland.  Within  a  year  we  are  told  that  the  railway  was 
extended  to  Vryburg,  a  distance  of  148  miles,  and  the  telegraph. to 
Palapye,  a  distance  of  350  miles  from  Kimberley.  A  pioneer  force  of 
about  200  men  was  organized  under  the  immediate  command  of  Major 
Johnston  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  road  4t)0  miles  long  from  the 
Macloutsie  river  as  far  as  Mt.  Hampden  in  Mashonaland.  The  directors 
had  been  earnestly  advised  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  touching 
Matabel  eland  and  so  arousing  the  jealous  alarm  of  Lobengula  on  their 
first  entry  into  these  territories.  It  was  accordingly  agreed  that  they 

108 


RHODESIA.  109 

should  go  eastwards  into  the  great  and  practically  unoccupied  terri- 
tories of  Mashonaland 

The  Company  occupied  at  this  time  a  most  puzzling  and  dubious 
position.  They  had  received  a  charter  empowering  them  to  carry  out 
the  terms  of  their  concession  with  Lobengula  and  giving  them  authority 
to  exercise  government,  after  the  power  to  exercise  it  should  have  be- 
come theirs;  but  as  yet  they  had  no  territory  of  their  own,  they  had  not 
bought  an  inch  of  soil  nor  had  any  been  granted  to  them.  How  were 
they  then  to  begin  their  work?  How  could  they  introduce  colonists  into  a 
land  where  they  could  give  them  no  titles  and  how  could  they  exercise 
sovereignty  in  a  land  where  they  held  no  possessions?  They  were 
entering  a  country  in  the  name  of  commercial  transactions  with  Loben- 
gula, with  whom  they  were,  or  were  supposed  to  be,  on  terms  of  peace 
and  mutual  understanding.  And  yet  when  they  proceeded  to  occupy 
Mashonaland  they  felt  bound  not  only  to  send  forward  200  pioneers  for 
the  purpose  of  opening  the  way,  but  found  it  necessary  to  send  after 
them  a  military  force  of  500  volunteers.  This  force  included  some  of 
the  flower  of  the  English  aristocracy,  some  of  the  dashing  young  officers 
of  the  British  army,  as  well  as  seasoned  colonists  of  different  races  and 
of  many  varied  kinds  of  experience. 

The  money  necessary  for  the  equipment  of  these  forces  was  partly 
found  by  drawing  upon  the  reserve  of  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines 
at  Kimberley. 

The  charter  had  been  signed  on  October  29,  1889,  and  in  the  Sep- 
tember of  the  following  year  Mashonaland  was  already  occupied  by  the 
pioneers  and  police  of  the  Chartered  Company.  They  started  from 
Mafeking  on  June  10,  1890,  the  pioneers  leaving  first  and  having  as 
their  task  the  making  of  a  road  and  fixing  upon  sites  for  the  forts  which 
it  was  intended  to  establish  at  various  points  on  the  long  road.  They 
performed  their  work  with  great  skill  and  courage.  Their  movements 
were,  for  South  African  methods  of  traveling,  remarkably  quick.  More- 
over, the  road  which  they  chose  under  wise  advice  was  one  which  kept 
them  outside  of  Lobengula's  acknowledged  dominions;  so  that  while 
his  mind  was  in  an  uncertain  condition  and  his  regiments  were  full  of 
wrath  no  excuse  was  found  by  him  or  them  for  making  an  attack. 
The  Chartered  Company's  forces  moved,  nevertheless,  with  all  the 


110  RHODESIA. 

wariness  of  an  invader.  They  formed  the  laagers  carefully  at  night 
and  kept  the  steam  up  in  the  engine  for  their  search  -light;  they  also 
maintained  strict  picket  duty  at  night  and  careful  scouting  on  the 
march.  The  search-light  produced  a  great  effect  upon  the  few  Mashona 
natives  whom  they  came  across.  As  it  swept  the  country  at  frequent 
intervals  it  seemed  to  them  as  if  the  white  man  had  chained  the  light- 
ning for  his  use. 

The  military  leader  of  the  pioneer  force  was  Major  Johnston,  who 
was  accompanied  by  Mr.  Colquhoun,  and  also  by  Mr.  F.  G.  Selous,  the 
famous  South  African  explorer  and  hunter.  On  September  12th  they 
reached  the  high  rounded  hill  known  as  Mt.  Hampden,  at  the  foot  of 
which  it  was  intended  to  make  the  terminus  of  their  long  journey  of  400 
miles.  Here  Fort  Salisbury  was  erected,  which  has  now  grown  into  the 
town  of  Salisbury.  Other  forts  which  were  placed  on  the  route  were 
named  Ft.  Tuli,  near  the  Transvaal  border,  Ft.  Victoria  and  Ft.  Charter. 
The  Chartered  Company's  leaders  were  men  of  marvellous  ambition 
and  energy,  and  their  energy  is  by  nothing  more  remarkably  displayed 
than  their  action  in  relation  to  the  territory  known  as  Manicaland. 
They  knew  that  here  there  had  been  discovered  old  and  long  disused  gold 
mines  such  as  are  found  in  some  parts  of  Mashonaland  itself,  and  they 
had  reason  to  believe  that  Manicaland  still  contained  large  quantities 
of  the  precious  metal.  Mr.  Colquhoun  and  Mr.  Selous  accordingly,  in 
September,  1890,  made  a  journey  to  the  kraal  of  the  chief  Unitasa  in 
Manicaland.  Xow,  this  territory  had  not  as  yet  been  effectively  occu- 
pied and  claimed  by  any  European  country.  The  Portuguese  had  at 
one  time  hoped  to  establish  a  great  colonial  empire  throughout  the 
region  south  of  the  Zambesi,  but  they  had  been  driven  back  by  the 
natives  themselves  and  by  their  own  weakness,  so  that  their  attempted 
occupation  embraced  only  a  few  points  on  the  coast.  But  the  Mozam- 
bique Company  had  trading  stations  at  various  places  and  one  of 
these  was  in  Manicaland. 

When  the  representatives  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company 
interviewed  Umtasa,  they  were  on  the  whole  favorably  received  and 
were  assured  by  him  that  neither  he  nor  any  ancestor  had  ever  made 
any  treaty  with  Portugal,  nor  sold  nor  granted  any  concession  to  any 
Portuguese  individual  or  company.  Having  satisfied  themselves  on 


RHODESIA.  Ill 

this  point  these  forceful  Britons  induced  him  to  make  a  treaty  with  the 
company  which  they  represented.  In  this  treaty  Umtasa  bound  him- 
self to  grant  no  land  in  Manicaland  to  any  foreigner  except  with  the 
consent  of  the  Company  in  writing.  He  now  granted  to  that  Company 
the  entire  mineral  rights  of  his  country  and  gave  them  permission  to 
construct  and  establish  public  works  of  all  kinds,  including  roads,  rail- 
ways, tramways,  banks,  etc.  For  these  concessions  the  king  was  to 
receive  the  assurance  of  British  protection  and  the  payment  of  an  an- 
nual subsidy  either  in  money  or  in  goods,  at  his  option. 

Not  far  distant  there  was  an  European  trader,  through  whom  these 
transactions  became  speedily  known  in  Portugal.  The  result  was  that 
certain  Portuguese  officials  appeared  from  the  coast  at  Umtasa's  kraal 
and  endeavored  to  coerce  him  into  renouncing  that  treaty  and  entering 
into  relations  with  themselves.  These  officials,  who  were  accompanied 
with  a  large  native  convoy  armed  with  rifles  and  swords,  were,  by  about 
forty  police  of  the  Chartered  Company,  put  under  arrest  and  disarmed. 
The  trader  was  released,  the  other  officials  were  taken  to  Ft.  Salisbury 
and  sent  to  Cape  Town.  This  produced  considerable  excitement  in 
Portugal  and  a  volunteer  force  consisting  of  100  Europeans  and  300 
or  400  blacks  invaded  Manicaland.  They  were  met  by  about  fifty  of 
the  Company's  police,  and  in  the  battle  which  ensued  they  were  put  to 
an  ignominious  flight.  Of  course  this  led  to  negotiations  between  Great 
Britain  and  Portugal,  with  the  result  that  for  the  first  time  a  western 
boundary  for  Portuguese  possessions  at  this  point  was  fixed,  Manica- 
land falling  into  Charterland.  It  was  arranged  that  a  railway  should 
be  built  from  the  nearest  Portuguese  seaport,  named  Beira,  which  has 
since  that  time  considerably  grown  and  promises  to  become  a  most 
important  place.  In  fact  it  is  through  the  development  of  the  Trans- 
vaal and  of  Mashonaland  that  Delagoa  Bay  and  Beira  have  become 
busy  places  and  Portuguese  possessions  have  become  valuable  to  her. 

After  their  arrival  and  after  making  sure  of  a  sufficient  garrison 
for  each  of  their  forts,  the  Chartered  Company  allowed  the  volunteers 
to  disperse  all  over  the  country  as  prospectors  for  the  precious  miner- 
als. The  conditions  under  which  they  were  to  receive  claims  and 
farms  were  fully  made  known  to  them.  The  terms  appeared  by  no 
means  too  favorable  to  the  individual  prospectors,  although  perhaps  in 


112  RHODESIA. 

actual  practice  they  may  turn  out  to  be  more  favorable,  for  it  must  be 
understood  that  most  of  the  gold  found  in  Charterland  is  embedded  in 
quartz  rock  and  cannot  be  extracted  in  paying  quantities  without  the 
use  of  expensive  and  elaborate  machinery.  Each  man  therefore  who 
found  a  claim  must  either  be  able  to  form  a  company  for  the  purpose 
of  working  his  claim  or  he  must  allow  the  Chartered  Company  to  do  it. 
In  either  case  half  the  produce  in  gold  must  be  given  to  the  Chartered 
Company,  the  remainder  being  reserved  by  the  claim  owner  for  himself. 

The  Company  had  the  good  fortune  to  acquire  soon  after  their 
arrival  in  the  country  what  seemed  to  be  a  secure  title  to  their  owner- 
ship of  the  soil.  Without  this  they  could  not  have  allotted  farms  nor 
planted  towns.  A  man,  Lippert,  persuaded  Lobengula  to  grant  him 
the  right  to  sell  lands  and  form  townships.  Lobengula  thought  him- 
self quick-witted  when  he  granted  this  concession.  He  imagined  that 
it  would  prove  to  be  a  checkmate  of  what  he  now  saw  to  be  the  extraor- 
dinary ambition  of  the  Chartered  Company.  But  Lippert  almost  im- 
mediately sold  his  concession  to  the  Chartered  Company,  which  now 
had  the  whole  thing  in  its  hands!  On  this  basis  and  in  the  most  lavish 
manner  titles  were  granted  right  and  left  to  white  people.  Sites  for 
towns  were  selected  and  the  work  of  active  colonization  was  begun. 

The  news  that  Mashonaland  had  been  successfully  and  peacefully 
occupied  and  that  the  pioneer  Europeans  were  now  prospecting  all 
over  the  country  in  safety,  finding  what  promised  to  be  magnificent 
mining  grounds,  spread  like  wild-fire  in  the  cities  and  towns  of  older 
lands  and  a  regular  stream  of  people  from  Europe  as  well  as  from 
the  colonies  of  South  Africa  moved  northwards.  Large  numbers  of 
these  never  got  to  Mashonaland.  Some  of  them  died  on  the  way  of  hard- 
ship and  fever  and  accident;  many  turned  back  in  disgust  after  a  few 
weeks  of  familiarity  with  wagon  travel;  some,  when  they  did  get  into 
Mashonaland,  were  bitterly  disappointed  that  the  towns  were  still 
scrubby  villages,  the  mines  still  existed  only  in  the  hopes  of  their  dis- 
coverers, the  price  of  living  was  extremely  high,  the  comforts  of  civiliza- 
tion lay  some  hundreds  of  miles  away  behind  them,  around  them 
appeared  only  the  rolling  plains  of  unoccupied  territories  varied  with 
abrupt  rocky  hills  here  and  there,  and  covered  with  scrubby  thorn 
bushes  or  dwarfed  and  sparsely  scattered  trees.  Many,  even  of  the 


RHODESIA.  113 

pioneers,  were  disappointed.  Nor  did  the  first  visit  of  Mr.  Khodes  him- 
self in  the  year  1891  succeed  in  putting  any  heart  into  the  depressed 
citizens  of  Mashonaland.  During  that  and  the  following  year  or  two 
they  became  exceedingly  critical  of  the  Chartered  Company  and  its 
administration.  They  began  to  ask  how  it  was  that  the  railway  was 
not  being  built  from  Salisbury  to  Berea,  a  distance  of  only  380  miles, 
and  why  it  was  that  the  machinery  for  the  gold  mines  was  not  being 
hurried  into  the  country  on  that  shorter  and  cheaper  route  instead 
of  being  brought  1,200  miles  from  Cape  Town.  They  began  in  fact  to  find 
that  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  at  once  Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony  and  manager 
of  the  Chartered  Company,  had,  like  his  chief,  the  Governor  of  Cape 
Colony  and  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  two  functions  to 
fulfill  whose  interests  were  sometimes  gravely  antagonistic.  It  ap- 
peared of  great  importance  to  him  as  a  shareholder  and  director  of  the 
mines  both  at  Kimberley  and  Johannesburg  that  he  should  retain 
the  friendship  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  hold  his  position  as  Prime  Min- 
ister there.  But  this  position  would  be  seriously  endangered  if  his 
friends  at  the  Cape  found  that  he  had  built  a  railway  to  the  eastern 
coast  of  Africa,  had  opened  a  commercial  traffic  in  that  direction  in- 
stead of  through  Cape  Colony,  and  was  thus  developing  south  central 
Africa  without  benefiting  the  older  colony  itself.  It  appeared  therefore 
to  the  settlers  in  Mashonaland  that  their  interests  were  being  sacrificed 
for  political  reasons,  or  at  least  for  reasons  which  they  could  not 
appreciate  and  which  affected  other  interests  not  their  own.  Mr. 
Khodes  is  a  man  not  easily  swerved  from  whatsoever  policy  he  has 
adopted,  and  they  did  not  find  themselves  able  to  obtain  from  him 
either  any  modification  of  the  conditions  on  which  mining  claims  were 
allowed,  or  any  promise  of  an  immediate  improvement  in  their  commer- 
cial relations  generally. 

That  improvement  was  not  possible  until  the  war  against  the  Mate- 
bele  had  taken  place  in  the  year  1893.  As  we  have  seen,  Lobengula 
viewed  with  great  jealousy  the  advent  of  the  Chartered  Company. 
He  saw  that  on  the  strength  of  the  concessions  which  he  had  sold  to 
them  the  Company  had  entered,  not  as  he  expected  in  the  capacity  merely 
of  commercial  seekers  after  gain,  but  as  a  veritable  government  which 
threatened  to  become  a  powerful  rival  of  his  own.  This  rivalry  ap- 


114  RHODESIA. 

peared  in  a  curious  form  when  in  the  year  .1893  some  of  his  regiments 
went  into  Mashonaland  on  their  usual  annual  raid.  The  poor  and  help- 
less Mashona  people  fled  to  the  Company's  settlement  for  protection.  Lo- 
bengula  demanded  that  they  should  be  delivered  up  to  him  and  would 
listen  to  no  arguments  advanced  from  a  European  point  of  view  re- 
garding personal  rights  and  liberties.  He  held  that  the  Mashona  were 
as  much  his  property  as  the  cattle  of  his  kraals,  and  were  his  to  be  dealt 
with  by  himself  at  his  good  pleasure.  The  controversy  became  so  acute 
that  everyone  saw  war  to  be  impending.  Lobengula,  however  much  he 
may  have  desired  it,  could  not  have  restrained  his  ferocious  regiments. 
He  manifested  what  for  a  savage  Zulu  chief  was  a  high  degree  of  honor 
by  wrarning  the  missionaries  and  white  traders  at  his  capital  that  they 
remained  at  their  own  peril;  that  he  himself  did  not  desire  to  injure 
them,  but  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  hold  in  his  warriors  in  their 
passion  for  blood.  Many  of  the  white  people,  therefore,  hastily  left 
the  country.  Two  traders  remained  who  were  found  as  the  only  living 
inhabitants  of  Buluwayo,  when  the  chief  had  fled  and  left  the  town  in 
ashes.  The  invasion  of  the  Matabele  was  carried  on  by  the  Chartered 
Company's  forces  from  the  east  with  about  600  men  under  Major  Forbes 
and  a  column  composed  largely  of  imperial  police  volunteers  under 
Col.  Goold-Adams,  numbering  about  450,  who  advanced  from  the  south. 
The  latter  column  was  greatly  assisted  by  a  force  of  1,700  or  1,800  men 
led  by  Khama,  the  chief  of  the  Bamangwato.  These  were  of  use  as  scouts 
and  in  other  ways.  They  remained  with  the  British  force  until  Khama 
ascertained  that  Lobengula  had  been  beaten  and  that  the  war  was 
virtually  over.  Without  attempting  to  join  in  the  triumphal  march 
into  Buluwayo,  he  immediately  returned  to  his  own  country.  Loben- 
gula was  pursued  under  the  orders  of  Dr.  Jameson,  who  was  Adminis- 
trator of  the  territories  of  the  Chartered  Company,  with  a  view  to  his 
capture.  It  was  while  engaged  on  this  mission  that  the  sad  and  yet 
thrilling  disaster  overtook  Maj.  Alan  Wilson  and  a  small  company 
of  mounted  men  who  wrere  riding  with  him  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitive 
chief.  They  found  themselves  cut  off  from  the  main  body,  and  sur- 
rounded by  large  numbers  of  Matabele.  Some  of  them  had  their  horses 
shot  down  from  under  them  and  the  rest,  wTho  could  have  fled,  remained 
with  their  comrades  to  the  last.  As  the  Matabele  closed  in  around  the 


RHODESIA.  115 

devoted  band  they  stood  back  to  back  until  the  last  cartridge  was  spent, 
then  the  fierce  savages  rushed  in  upon  them  and  left  not  one  alive  to  tell 
the  tale.  It  turned  out  afterwards  that  before  this  disaster  Lobengula 
had  sent  two  white  men  as  messengers  to  Dr.  Jameson,  giving  them 
£1,000  (about  f  5,000)  in  gold  to  hand  to  him  as  a  pledge  of  peace,  re- 
questing that  the  terms  of  a  treaty  should  be  sent  to  him.  The  black- 
hearted messengers  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  keep  the  money 
and  the  message  to  themselves.  Their  treachery  was  not  discovered 
until  some  time  afterwards,  when  they  were  arrested  and  of  course 
amid  universal  execration  condemned  to  a  severe  sentence.  Loben- 
gula spent  some  miserable  months  in  wandering  and  exile  and  finally 
died  in  January,  1894.  Buluwayo,  which  had  been  the  capital  in  Loben- 
gula's  time,  was  immediately  pitched  upon  as  the  best  center  for  the 
government  of  Matabeleland  by  the  Chartered  Company.  Immediately 
there. was  a  rush  of  white  people  to  that  place,  and  it  is  said  that  no 
towrn  in  South  Africa,  not  excepting  Johannesburg  itself,  passed 
through  the  early  stages  of  development  so  rapidly  and  successfully  as 
Buluwayo. 

After  the  first  conquest  of  Matabeleland  in  1893  it  was  proposed 
to  organize  the  administration  of  Matabeleland  under  the  Char- 
tered Company.  This  accordingly  was  done  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  May,  1894.  The  main  features  of  the  administration  were 
as  follows :  The  executive  power  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  an  Admin- 
istrator and  a  council.  The  council  consisted  of  a  judge  who  could  only 
be  removed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  London,  and  three  other  mem- 
bers whose  appointment  by  the  Chartered  Company  was  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  Administrator  had  very 
large  powers  and  was  under  no  final  obligation  to  secure  the 
approval  of  his  intentions  from  the  council,  but  he  was  bound 
to  report  all  action  to  the  council.  Legislation  took  place  when 
the  Administrator  framed  and  issued  regulations  which  had  se- 
cured the  concurrence  of  at  least  two  members  of  the  council  and  the 
approval  of  the  High  Commissioner  for -South  Africa.  The  judge  had 
separate  jurisdiction  over  all  legal  procedure  both  civil  and  criminal; 
and  legal  procedure  was  to  be  modelled  as  far  as  possible  after  that 
which  obtains  in  the  Cape  Colony.  In  cases  between  native  litigants 


116  RHODESIA. 

native  law  was  to  be  observed  in  so  far  as  that  law  was  not  repugnant 
to  the  principles  of  morality  or  to  the  legislation  of  the  new  Adminis- 
tration. Local  magistrates  were  to  be  appointed  by  the  Company  with 
the  approval  of  the  High  Commissioner. 

These  simple  and  sensible  arrangements  appear  to  have  worked 
fairly  well.  Much  importance  attaches  naturally  to  the  laws  bearing 
upon  the  treatment  of  the  native  tribes.  Everything  was  done  to  pro- 
vide for  full  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  natives  as  the  original  occu- 
pants of  the  soil,  and  in  the  following  regulations  a  remarkable  contrast 
is  presented  between  the  spirit  of  the  Imperial  Government  even  when 
acting  through  a  Chartered  Company  and  the  spirit  manifested  by  most 
of  those  Europeans  who  hitherto  have  seized  native  lands  in  South 
Africa.  Very  careful  restriction  was  placed  upon  the  power  of  the 
European  communities  to  levy  fines  on  native  chiefs  or  tribes.  Fines 
could  only  be  imposed  by  the  Administrator,  sitting  with  his  council, 
and  every  case  of  the  kind  must  be  immediately  reported  with  full 
particulars  to  the  High  Commissioner.  Natives  were  to  receive  special 
legislation  and  careful  treatment  so  as  to  prevent  the  sale  of  liquor, 
arms  and  ammunition  to  them.  In  order  to  safeguard  the  interests  of 
the  natives  in  the  land,  a  special  Land  Commission  was  organized.  It 
was  composed  of  three  persons,  namely,  the  judge,  one  member  ap- 
pointed by  the  Secretary  of  State  in  London,  and  one  member  appointed 
by  the  Company.  The  decisions  of  this  Land  Commission  are  subject  to 
revision  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  When  the  Land  Commission  shall 
have  completed  its  labors  and  the  reason  for  its  continuance  has  ceased, 
all  its  powers  and  duties  will  pass  to  the  judge.  Its  first  task  was  to 
assign  to  the  natives  then  inhabiting  Matabeleland,  sufficient  and  suit- 
able land  for  their  agricultural  and  grazing  requirements,  and  cattle 
sufficient  for  their  needs.  They  were  to  be  carefully  secured  and  pro- 
tected in  the  ownership  of  the  land,  and  hence  no  contract  for  the 
purchase  or  encumbering  of  a  native's  land  is  valid  in  Rhodesia  unless 
it  is  made  before  a  magistrate,  who  mu^t  satisfy  himself  that  the  native 
understands  the  bargain  and.  must  himself  attest  the  contract.  All 
natives,  of  course,  have  the  same  rights  as  white  people  to  acquire  and 
hold  and  dispose  of  landed  property  in  any  other  part  of  the  country 
with  perfect  freedom  and  on  their  own  responsibility.  Should  the 


RHODESIA.  117 

couipany  require  any  of  the  land  assigned  by  the  Commission  to  natives, 
either  because  of  its  mineral  wealth,  or  its  adaptation  for  townships  or 
public  works,  the  Company  must  bring  its  plea  before  the  Land  Com- 
mission. Upon  good  and  sufficient  cause  being  shown  the  Commission 
may  order  the  land  so  required  to  be  given  up,  but  the  natives  con- 
cerned must  receive  full  compensation  in  land  elsewhere,  and  this  land 
must  be,  as  far  as  possible,  equally  valuable  for  their  purposes  as  that 
from  which  they  are  removed.  The  inquiry  leading  up  to  any  such  im- 
portant action  must  be  made  upon  the  spot  by  the  Commission.  Such 
regulations  promise  a  fair  future  for  the  relations  of  the  Company  to 
the  natives. 

But,  alas!  the  law  may  propose — it  is  the  citizens  who  dispose.  Even 
in  Rhodesia  the  actual  relations  of  the  Company  to  the  native  races 
were  such,  after  the  Matabele  had  been  conquered,  as  to  cause  irritation 
and  fan  the  smouldering  fires  of  resentment  into  flames  of  open  rebel- 
lion. Many  of  the  settlers  acted  in  the  spirit  of  Olive  Schreiner's  hero, 
"Peter  Halkett,"  and  the  natives  were  unable  to  obtain  redress,  or  did 
not  know  by  what  steps  redress  could  be  obtained.  The  Matabele  were 
chiefly  annoyed  by  the  administration  of  their  affairs  in  respect  to  their  4 
cattle  and  to  the  question  of  labor.  The  Company  required  large  quan- 
tities of  cattle;  they  divided  the  country  into  districts  and  placed  over 
each  district  a  native  chief  or  induna  who  was  held  responsible  for  the 
payment  of  as  many  head  of  cattle  as  the  Company  through  its  local 
officers  might  at  any  time  demand  of  him.  No  method  of  conducting 
commerce  or  collecting  tribute  could  possibly  betray  more  ignorance 
of  the  native  spirit  or  be  better  calculated  to  quicken  rebellion.  Scarcely 
less  foolish  in  the  circumstances  was  the  method  of  obtaining  native 
labor  by  requiring  from  every  induna  as  many  black  men  as  were  re- 
quired in  this  or  that  district.  The  Matabele  had  come  to  regard  them- 
selves as  an  aristocratic  class,  superior  to  those,  like  the  contemptible 
Mashonas,  who  engaged  in  manual  labor.  To  be  forced  to  labor  even 
for  the  Company  and  even  for  fixed  wages,  was  to  have  the  sense  of 
their  defeat  and  subjection  driven  into  their  proud  hearts  day  after  day 
and  month  after  month.  There  seems  abundant  evidence  that  at  certain 
times  even  force  had  to  be  employed  in  order  to  bring  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  laborers  to  serve  the  whites.  Matters  were  brought  to  a  head 


118  RHODESIA. 

.when  the  news  spread  late  in  1895  that  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  force  of  vol- 
unteers had  left  Rhodesia.  Only  about  40  European  members  of  the 
police  force  were  left  to 'control  the  large  number  of  native  police, 
who  had  been  drawn  from  Lobengula's  fierce  regiments,  and  the  coun- 
try as  a  whole.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  think  with  patience  of  the 
blind  folly  of  the  administration  at  this  time.  They  appear  to  have 
been  blinded  in  Matabeleland  by  the  intensity  of  their  gaze  upon  Johan- 
nesburg. The  fascination  of  the  expected  revolution  in  the  Transvaal 
and  the  illimitable  possibilities  which  that  suggested  to  the  ambitious 
minds  of  the  Chartered  Company,  confused  their  judgment  regarding 
the  state  of  matters  in  Matabelelaud.  For  some  months  they  were  like 
people  standing  over  a  volcano,  heedless  of  the  quaking  earth  and  the 
rumbling  sounds.  All  at  once  the  volcano  burst.  When  Dr.  Jameson 
was  a  prisoner  at  Pretoria,  defeated  and  disgraced,  the  native  police  felt 
their  strength  and  wondered  why  they  had  allowed  men  to  beat  them 
in  '93  who  were  so  easily  crushed  by  the  Boers  in  '96.  In  spite  of  strict 
regulations  against  the  sale  of  guns  and  ammunition  many  of  the 
natives  had  been  able  to  purchase  these  from  European  smugglers,  who 
brought  them  into  Matabeleland  through  Portuguese  territory  and  the 
Transvaal.  Swiftly  as  news  spreads  through  native  territories  the 
word  passed  from  kraal  to  kraal  that  liberty  was  at  hand  and  that  the 
whites  were  at  their  mercy. 

On  March  24,  1896,  the  terrible  rebellion  of  the  Matabele  broke  out. 
All  over  the  land  defenseless  farmers  with  their  wives  and  children  were 
suddenly  overwhelmed  and  murdered, their  bodies  mutilated,  their  homes 
burned  over  their  heads.  Instantly  every  living  white  man  in  the  coun- 
try put  himself  under  arms  and  made  for  Buluwayo  or  Salisbury.  There 
were  many  wonderful  feats  of  courage,  wonderful  deeds  of  heroism  per- 
formed in  those  days  by  desperate  white  women  and  passionate  white 
men.  Forces  were  raised  also  in  the  Colony  and  sent  north,  with  the 
result  that  in  a  short  while  there  were  more  than  5,000  troops  in  Mata- 
beleland under  the  command  of  Gen.  Frederick  Carrington.  The  chief 
officers  under  him  wrere  Col.  Plumer  and  Col.  Baden-Powell.  As  these 
troops,  under  magnificent  and  skilful  management,  were  broken  up  into 
parties  who  scoured  the  country,  rescuing  the  whites  wherever  they  could 
find  them  and  punishing  bands  of  wandering  native  warriors,  they  grad- 


H 

Of 


N 


ZULUS    DEFYING    THE    LIGHTNING 

Among  the  curious  superstitions  of  South  African  natives  we  must  place  that  of  making  the  rain, 
and  the  one  depicted  in  this  scene  of  defying  the  lightning.  Primitive  men  think  of  nature  as  standing 
in  a  closer  relation  to  human  beings  than  we  can  conceive.  When  an  eclipse  occurs  they  beat  their  drums 
and  raise  their  war  shouts  to  frighten  the  evil  spirit  away;  so  here,  when  the  lightning  flashes  and  the 
thunder  roars,  the  warriors  take  their  shields  and  spears  and  defy  the  power  that  threatens  them. 


RHODESIA.  121 

ually  drove  the  Matabele  from  the  open  country.  Among  the  Matoppo 
hills  the  natives  took  refuge,  whence  the  white  men  soon  found  that  it 
was  practically  impossible  to  dislodge  them  within  a  reasonable  time. 
The  only  plan  was  to  starve  them  out.  Towards  the  end  of  August,  189C, 
the  natives  lost  heart.  The  time  for  sowing  their  crops  was  at  hand;  there 
was  no  prospect  which  they  could  see  of  winning  the  victory;  they  had 
indeed  learned  once  more  the  humiliating  but  necessary  lesson  that  they 
were  no  match  for  the  white  people.  Accordingly  peace  was  concluded 
with  the  leading  commanders,  who  brought  their  regiments  back  to 
their  kraals  and  to  their  locations,  and  set  them  to  work  upon  the  sow- 
ing of  their  seeds  and  the  raising  of  their  crops.  The  Company  were 
wise  enough  to  provide  the  natives  freely  with  seed  corn  in  order  to  tide 
them  over  the  critical  period  lying  before  them.  Mr.  Rhodes  fresh  from 
the  humiliation  of  the  Jameson  Raid  was  in  Matabeleland  during  the 
war  and  distinguished  himself  by  the  frank  courage  with  which  he 
walked  unarmed  into  the  presence  of  the  leaders  of  the  rebellion  and 
offered  them  peace.  They  were  deeply  impressed,  as  savages  always  are 
when  a  white  man  defies  them  and  their  weapons  in  this  way,  and  hence- 
forth regarded  Mr.  Rhodes  with  new  awe.  In  Mashonaland  the 
natives  had  also  risen  encouraged  by  the  Matabele  and  irritated  by 
certain  doings  of  the  white  people,  but  they  were  soon  overwhelmed. 
By  this  time  the  country  was  under  the  administration  of  Earl  Grey, 
who  had  succeeded  Dr.  Jameson. 

Partly  as  a  result  of  this  second  war  as  well  as  of  the  misuse  of  their 
power  by  the  leaders  of  the  Chartered  Company  in  the  organization  of 
the  Jameson  plan,  the  British  Government  readjusted  the  methods  of 
administration  in  Rhodesia.  The  necessary  modifications  in  the  admin- 
istration of  Rhodesia  by  the  Chartered  Company  were  made  in  1898 
under  an  Order  in  Council  issued  by  the  Queen.  The  main  alterations 
and  additions  in  the  relations  of  the  Chartered  Company,  as  a  governing 
body,  to  the  Imperial  authorities  were  intended  to  obviate  the  repetition 
of  any  such  arbitrary  action  as  the  Jameson  Raid.  The  British  public 
thought  that  it  had  been  proved  unsafe  to  leave  the  Company  in  absolute 
possession  of  the  territories  under  its  charge,  and  that  some  check  must 
be  placed  upon  the  possibility  of  disloyal  proceedings. 

The  main  feature  of  the  new  order  consisted  in  the  appointment  of 


l-2'2  RHODESIA. 

a  Resident  Commissioner,  who  derives  his  authority  as  well  as  his  salary 
directly  and  solely  from  the  Imperial  Government,  is  ex-officio  member 
both  of  the  Executive  and  Legislative  Councils,  with  power  to  attend 
all  their  meetings  and  the  meetings  of  any  committee  thereof.  He  may 
discuss  whatever  matters  are  brought  before  such  meetings,  but  has  no 
vote.  It  is  his  duty  to  make  constant  and  full  reports  of  all  proceedings  to 
the  High  Commissioner  at  Cape  Town.  An  equally  important  alteration 
was  made  with  regard  to  the  Rhodesian  police.  These  were  taken  entirely 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Company  and  placed  under  the  direct  control 
and  authority  of  the  High  Commissioner.  The  Commandant-General 
and  subordinate  officers  are  all  appointed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  in 
London  and  paid  from  the  Imperial  treasury.  In  any  case  where  the 
Commandant-General  as  an  Imperial  officer  differs  from  the  military 
plans  of  the  administration  under  the  Company,  he  may  apply  for 
instruction  to  the  High  Commissioner,  whose  authority  is  final.  A  High 
Court  was  also  constituted  by  this  order,  whose  judges  are  appointed 
by  a  Secretary  of  State  on  nomination  of  the  Company;  the  Company, 
however,  has  no  right  to  remove  any  judge  who  has  once  been  appointed, 
this  being  reserved  solely  for  the  Secretary  of  State  in  London.  Fur- 
ther and  more  elaborate  plans  were  drawn  out  for  the  conduct  of  native 
affairs.  These  were  placed  under  the  Native  Secretary  with  a  body  of 
assistants  called  native  commissioners,  who  are  all  appointed  by  the 
Administrator  acting  for  t!ie  Company;  but  the  High  Commissioner  and 
Secretary  of  State  have  reserved  to  them  ultimate  power  in  the  matter 
of  appointment,  salaries  and  the  removal  from  office  of  these 
officials. 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  it  has  been  found  necessary  within  ten  years 
of  the  granting  of  the  charter  to  the  British  South  Africa  Company,  on 
account  of  the  policy  and  conduct  of' the  directors  and  officers  of  that 
Company  in  South  Africa,  very  seriously  to  curtail  the  powers  originally 
granted  to  it.  Practically  the  present  system  of  government  of  Rhode- 
sia consists  in  this:  First,  the  Company,  in  return  for  the  possessions 
and  privileges  granted  to  it,  and  through  which  it  hopes  to  make  a  great 
income  for  its  shareholders,  pays  all  the  expenses  of  the  actual  admin- 
istration and  legislation,  and  has  power  to  nominate  its  principal  officers 
anil  to  appoint  subordinate  officers.  But  on  the  other  hand,  all  these 


RHODESIA.  123 

nominations  and  appointments  must  be  laid  for  final  approval  before 
the  High  Commissioner  and  the  Secretary  of  State.  The  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment has  reserved  to  itself  direct  control  of  the  military  forces,  and 
has  made  arrangements  for  a  constant  scrutiny  of  the  entire  conduct  of 
affairs  both  legislative  and  executive,  as  carried  on  by  the  Company. 
Every  check  has  been  placed  upon  the  power  of  the  Company  in  any 
way  to  wrong  the  natives  or  to  misuse  its  forces  in  relation  to  neigh- 
boring states.  Many  of  the  wisest  supporters  of  the  Chartered  Company 
and  defenders  of  the  policy  of  colonial  development  by  means  of  a 
chartered  company,  are  thankful  for  the  present  arrangement.  They 
allege  that  it  enables  Britain  and  South  Africa  and  the  Company  to 
get  out  of  the  system  all  the  advantages  of  enterprise  and  skill  which 
the  members  of  a  commercial  company  must  exert  in  their  own  interests, 
while  it  secures  also  all  the  advantages  of  direct  Imperial  guidance  and 
control. 

Since  the  year  1896  the  development  of  Rhodesia  has  proceeded  at 
a  rate  hardly  equalled  by  the  early  history  of  any  colony  in  the  world. 
The  work  of  administration  of  the  natives  has  been  carried  out  on  much 
wiser  plans  and  on  the  wThole  with  great  smoothness  and  success.  Peace 
has  reigned  throughout  Matabeleland  and  Mashonaland.  The  original 
inhabitants  of  the  country  have  shown  that  they  realize  the  position  in 
which  they  were  left  by  the  operations  of  1896.  They  implicitly  obey 
the  orders  of  the  administration,  and,  what  is  of  very  great  significance, 
they  pay  the  hut-tax,  which  goes  towards  the  expenses  of  administra- 
tion, with  promptitude.  For  the  year  1899  this  tax  was  expected  to 
produce  £42,000  (about  f  200,000).  Even  in  Matabeleland,  where  the  tax 
was  levied  for  the  first  time  in  July,  1899,  the  amount  collected  was 
£22,000  (about  $100,000),  which  was  considerably  in  excess  of  the  esti- 
mates made  by  the  native  officials.  The  tax  per  capita  is  small,  of 
course,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  make  the  people  feel  that  they  are  under 
authority  a'nd  that  they  have  a  personal  stake  in  the  righteous  admin- 
istration of  the  law  in  their  midst.  The  great  difficulty,  which  presses 
hard  upon  the  administration,  is  that  of  persuading  the  natives  to  work. 
The  wages  are  for  them  fairly  high  and  a  man  can  by  working  a  few 
weeks  make  enough  to  keep  himself  and  family  for  a  year.  This  puts 
a  premium  upon  laziness,  and  laziness  is  the  foe  of  development.  The 


124  RHODESIA. 

chief  practical  problem  in  many  South  African  native  regions  is  the 
same, — how  the  natives  can  be  turned  from  useless,  often  loathsome, 
idlers  into  active  and  progressive  workers. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  Rhodesian  history  is  the  build- 
ing of  the  railways  which  connect  that  country  with  Cape  Town  in  the 
south  and  Beira  on  the  east  coast.  In  1896  the  railway  had  reached 
Mafeking,  about  850  miles  north  of  Cape  Town,  in  November,  1897,  it 
had  actually  been  built  as  far  as  Buluwayo,  1,360  miles  from  Cape  Town. 
To  celebrate  this  event  invitations  were  made  to  eminent  men  in  Lon- 
don, some  of  whom  availed  themselves  of  the  opportunity,  made  the 
long  voyage  to  Cape  Town  and  traveled  upon  the  new  railway  to  Bulu- 
wayo itself.  Among  these  was  Sir  Henry  M.  Stanley,  who,  in  letters  to 
the  London  Times,  which  have  since  been  published  in  a  volume  entitled 
"South  Africa,"  describes  his  experiences  and  the  opening  of  the  rail- 
way after  an  interesting  manner.  He  appears  to  have  been  surprised  at 
the  energy,  the  foresight  and  the  ambition  displayed  by  the  Chartered 
Company  and  the  inhabitants  of  Rhodesia.  The  town  of  Buluwayo 
itself,  which  had  been  formerly  Lobengula's  kraal  and  which  within 
one  year  after  its  selection  as  the  capital  of  the  country  received  a  popu- 
lation of  no  less  than  3,000  white  people,  seemed  typical  to  the  British 
traveler  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  whole  country  is  likely  to  develop. 
Of  course,  to  start  with,  the  class  of  men  who  settle  in  Rhodesia  is,  on 
the  whole,  of  very  high  average  in  character  and  intelligence.  The 
happy-go-lucky  miner,  the  mere  wayward  adventurer  has  no  chance  in 
that  country,  where  prices  are  high  and  an  income  is  only  made  by 
hard  work  and  by  the  exercise  of  intelligence.  As  soon  as  the  railway 
was  opened  machinery  and  goods  of  all  kinds  poured  into  the  country 
and  were  disposed  of  at  prices  far  below  anything  attainable  before. 
The  hope  cherished  by  the  majority  of  those  who  go  to  Rhodesia  is,  of 
course,  that  they  may  become  discoverers  of  gold  mines.  Undoubtedly 
there  are  still  gold  districts  which  will  become  important  as  they  are 
further  developed,  but  no  district  in  Rhodesia  yet  approaches  the  value 
of  the  Rand  in  the  Transvaal.  The  country,  however,  contains  other 
attractions.  In  the  north  along  the  valleys  of  the  Zambesi  there  are  rich 
and  splendid  coal  fields.  In  some  parts  rice  can  be  grown  in  large  quan- 
tities and  cereals,  including  wheat,  flourish  in  others.  Even  in  those 


RHODESIA.  125 

parts  which  are  not  likely  to  be  so  productive  in  fruit  and  grain  crops, 
there  are  excellent  facilities  for  stock  farming. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  important  facts  connected  with  the  history 
of  the  Chartered  Company  in  South  Africa  is  the  fact  that  the  territories 
which  we  have  be'en  describing  are  known  as  Southern  Rhodesia  and 
that  across  the  Zambesi  there  is  another  enormous  territory  known  as 
Northern  Rhodesia.  Through  the  eastern  part  of  this  territory  it  is 
proposed  to  continue  the  railway  and  the  telegraph,  which  have  already 
reached  Salisbury.  The  plans  have  been  laid  out  for  that  tremendous 
undertaking  and  the  estimates  received.  As  soon  as  favorable  circum- 
stances arise,  the  task  will  be  undertaken  to  carry  railway  communica- 
tion from  the  northern  bank  of  the  Zambesi  right  up  to  Lake 
Tanganyika. 

Since  the  advent  of  the  pioneer  force  in  1890  Southern  Rhodesia  has 
developed  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  The  sums  expended  upon  pub- 
lic works  are  large  and  they  include  a  considerable  amount  which  has 
to  be  employed  in  the  maintenance  of  roads  to  the  extent  of  2,485  miles. 
The  native  population  has  not  as  yet  begun  to  increase.  In  the  prov- 
ince of  Mashonaland  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  nearly  200,000 
natives  and  in  the  province  of  Matabeleland  about  115,000,  making  a 
total  native  population  for  Southern  Rhodesia  of  more  than  300,000. 
Since  the  opening  up  of  the  country  by  the  Chartered  Company,  in  spite 
of  the  wars  which  have  taken  place,  the  difficulties  of  travel,  .the  high 
price  of  living  and  the  many  other  practical  problems  which  face  the 
miner,  the  merchant  and  the  farmer  alike,  the  population  has  grown 
to  more  than  13,000  Europeans.  The  capital  city,  Buluwayo,  is  said  to 
have  now  a  population  of  more  than  7,000  Europeans.  When  the  pres- 
ent war  is  over,  when  the  railway  line  to  Beira  on  the  eastern  coast  has 
been  made  more  useful  and  transportation  upon  it  cheaper,  which  will 
be  the  case  soon,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  there  will  be  a  large  influx 
of  white  people  into  these  territories.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Southern 
Rhodesia  may  yet  in  many  respects  become  the  rival  of  the  Transvaal 
and  the  superior  of  all  other  South  African  states  in  its  mineral  wealth, 
its  agricultural  facilities  and,  above  all,  in  the  energy  of  its  colonists. 
Sir  H.  M.  Stanley  suggests  that  Buluwayo  may  become  the  Chicago  of 
Africa — and  what  more  can  be  said? 


CHAPTER   IX. 
CAPE    COLONY,   1814-1900. 

FOR  some  years  after  the  occupation  of  the  Cape  by  the  British  Gov- 
ernment at  the  Cape  they  were  singularly  successful  in  their  con- 
trol of  Colonial  affairs*  They  sent  out  as  Governors  able  and 
high-minded  representatives  of  their  country  who  neither  sought  to 
advance  their  personal  wealth  nor  found  pleasure  in '  tyrannizing 
over  any  portion  of  the  country  under  their  care.  Lord  Charles 
Soineset,  for  example,  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  warmly  supported 
by  the  best  Dutch  officials  in  the  Colony.  One  of  these  especially,  a  Mr. 
Stockenstrom,  received  from  him  the  very  highest  encomiums  for  the 
fidelity,  ability  and  energy  of  his  services  both  as  a  judge  and  niilitary 
officer. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  even  in  those  early  days  the  first  bitter 
troubles  between  the  Government  and  the  Dutch  arose  over  the  treat- 
ment of  the  natives.  One  of  the  most  unhappy  episodes,  and  one  that  has 
left  its  influence  on  the  entire  history  of  the  Colony  down  to  this  day, 
arose  from  this  cause.  A  farmer  near  the  'frontier,  of  the  name  of 
Bezuidenhout,  was  accused  by  a  black  servant  of  having  grossly  ill- 
treated  him.  The  latter  brought  his  complaint  before  the  Landdrost 
at  Graaff-Reinet  who  ordered  a  subordinate  to  investigate  the  complaint 
and  deal  with  it.  This  subordinate  was  also  a  Dutchman.  Bezuiden- 
hout resented  what  he  thought  to  be  an  invasion  of  his  private  authority 
over  his  servants,  and  it  was  necessary  to  issue  a  warrant  for  his  appre- 
hension. This  the  farmer  resolved  to  resist  with  force  of  arms.  He 
prepared  himelf  by  carrying  a  large  supply  of  ammunition  to  a  cave 
near  his  house  which  could  only  be  approached  by  one  man  at  a  time. 
Thither  when  hard  pressed  he  retired  and  warned  his  would-be  captors 
that  he  would  shoot  every  man  who  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  He 
had  companions  with  him  to  support  him  in  his  struggle.  The  matter 
was  soon  over,  however,  for  one  of  the  Government  officers,  stepping  to 
the  front,  shot  him  down  before  he  could  take  aim. 

The  immediate  relatives  of  this  Bezuidenhout  deeply  resented  what 

126 


CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900,  127 

had  been  done  and  his  brother  actually  collected  a  band  together  to  take 
vengeance  of  a  murderous  kind  upon  the  civil  and  military  authorities 
alike.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  civil  authorities  were  their 
fellow  Dutchmen.  They  gathered  together  a  band  of  rebels  whom  they 
incited  with  threats  and  with  warnings  that  those  who  did  not  help 
them  they  would  leave  to  the  mercies  of  the  Kaffirs.  In  the  meantime 
the  authorities  gathered  another  force  which  included  a  great  many 
Dutchmen;  the  latter  came  under  the  leadership  of  their  Dutch  field- 
commandants.  So  far,  then,  the  story  is  simply  one  of  border  ruffians 
fighting  against  the  simplest  rules  of  Government.  There  was  no 
poetry,  no  patriotism,  no  morality,  no  religion  in  the  struggle  of  these 
Boers.  There  was  nothing  to  show  that  they  had  been  wronged,  but 
everything  to  prove  that  they  were  wild  and  passionate  men, desiring 
to  be  left  alone  to  live  entirely  as  they  liked.  The  result  was,  of  course, 
that  in  the  battle  which  ensued  the  rebels  were  overwhelmed,  the  second 
Bezuidenhout  was  slain  and  his  followers  immediately  surrendered. 
Thirty-nine  men  were  put  on  trial  and  were  condemned  to  various  de- 
grees of  punishment.  The  five  who  were  identified  as  the  chief  fomenters 
of  the  miserable  and  unprincipled  rebellion,  were  condemned  to  be  ex- 
ecuted by  hanging.  The  sentence  was  carried  out  in  public,  of  course, 
according  to  the  universal  custom  of  the  day.  Unfortunately,  either 
through  accident  or,  as  is  suggested,  through  treachery,  the  gallows  gave 
way  and  the  poor  wretches  had  to  pass  through  the  agony  of  waiting 
until  arrangements  were  made  for  carrying  the  execution  out.  Naturally 
appeals  were  made  by  the  criminals  as  well  as  by  their  sympathizers 
for  mercy;  but  the  officer  in  charge,  probably  a  man  as  merciful  as  most 
men,  saw  no  way  of  avoiding  his  stern  military  duty,  on  the  ground  that 
an  accident  had  occurred.  The  sentence  was  carried  out.  The  border 
Boers  called  the  spot  where  this  occurred  "Slaghter's  Nek"  and  the 
name  has  been  retained  from  that  day  to  this,  the  story  being  told  with 
embellishing  details  from  generation  to  generation  to  stimulate  hatred 
of  the  British  Government  and  to  confirm  the  notion  that  this  Govern- 
ment has  always  persecuted  the  Boers.  Every  Government  in  the 
world  whose  territories  have  bordered  upon  or  included  men  of  a  lower 
race  as  well  as  their  own  citizens  of  the  wilder  sorts  has  had  to  perform 
deeds  like  this  upon  its  border  ruffians. 


128  CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900. 

Lord  Charles  Somerset  found  himself  involved,  as  all  his  predeces- 
sors and  successors  in  the  thankless  office  of  Governor  of  the  Cape  Col- 
ony, in  wellnigh  continuous  difficulties  with  native  tribes.  It  would 
be  needless  to  enter  in  the  space  at  our  disposal  into  the  details  of 
the  repeated  negotiations  and  fights  and  peace  settlements  and  terri- 
torial annexations  and  fresh  misunderstandings  which  were  incident 
to  every  one  of  the  many  contests  with  native  tribes. 

In  the  year  1819,  in  response  to  a  suggestion  from  the  Governor,  the 
British  Government  took  one  of  the  wisest  steps,  which  has  been  re- 
peated all  too  seldom  since  that  day.  They  described  to  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland  the  advantages  of  South  Africa  as  to  climate, 
beauty  and  fertility  of  soil.  They  were  thinking  of  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Eastern  Province,  and  offered  to  convey  thither  at  the  Govern- 
ment's expense  parties  of  emigrants  to  the  number  of  5,000.  They 
actually  received  90,000  applications!  On  their  arrival  the 'emigrants 
were  taken  in  charge  by  officials  appointed  for  the  purpose  and  led  to 
the  different  districts  suitable  for  settlement.  They  soon  took  root  in 
the  country  and  took  their  place  among  the  most  valuable  colonists  in 
South  Africa. 

In  the  year  1829  an  Order  in  Council,  dated  from  Windsor  Castle, 
gave  to  South  Africa  what  one  of  the  ablest  and  fairest  historians  of 
the  country  (Mr.  John  Noble)  has  called  "The  Magna  Charta'  of  tjje 
Colonial  Aboriginal  Kaces."  This  enactment  was  partly  the  result  of 
prolonged  consultation  with  Mr.  Stockenstrom  as  well  as  with  the  Kev. 
Dr.  Philip,  the  well  known  and  powerful  representative  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  in  South  Africa.  The  name  of  Dr.  Philip  has  from 
that  day  to  this  been  an  object  of  intense  hatred  on  the  part  of  the 
Boers. 

"  At  this  time  the  Dutch  felt  some  irritation  over  the  remodeling  of 
the  courts  of  justice  and  the  decision  to  have  all  documents  addressed 
to  the  Government  either  written  in  English  or  presented  with  the 
translation  attached.  These  changes  are  nowadays  referred  to  by  a 
certain  class  of  historians  as  among  the  causes  of  the  Dutch  dislike  of 
Great  Britain.  An  enactment  of  1829  removed  certain  restrictions 
which  had  been  placed  by  Dutch  law  and  custom  upon  the  freedom  of 
the  colored  people  and  placed  them  on  the  same  political  platform  as 


CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900.  129 

Europeans.  This  was  also  most  deeply  resented,  and  while  it  ought  to 
have  prepared  their  minds  for  the  approaching  act  of  slave  emancipa- 
tion, it  only  rankled  in  their  hearts  and  added  to  the  bitterness  with 
which  they  received  that  great  transaction. 

In  the  year  1834  there  arrived  at  Cape  Town  one  of  the  greatest 
Governors  whom  South  Africa  has  ever  seen,  by  the  name  of  Sir  Benja- 
min D'Urban.  One  of  the  first  measures  which  took  place  under  his 
Governorship  granted  to  the  Cape  a  legislative  council  which  consisted 
of  the  Governor  himself  as  President,  five  Imperial  officers,  and  five 
colonists  who  were  selected  by  the  Governor  as  fit  and  proper  to  repre- 
sent their  fellows  in  all  matters  of  legislation  and  administration.  It 
was  in  his  day  that  the  greatest  strain  was  put  upon  the  loyalty  of  the 
Dutch  people,  for  he  it  was  who  had  to  see  the  slave  emancipation  act 
carried  into  effect.  On  Dec.  1,  1834,  the  ownership  of  slaves  ceased  to 
exist  in  Cape  Colony,  but  it  was  very  carefully  provided  that  the  negroes 
were  to  remain  apprenticed  to  their  former  owners  for  a  period  of  seven 
years.  All  those  who  speak  of  the  harsh  way  in  which  -the  British  Gov- 
ernment is  said  to  have  enforced  emancipation  upon  the  burghers  of 
Cape  Colony  practically  ignore  the  economic  significance  of  this  seven 
years  apprenticeship.  It  was  a  wise  measure  which  if  wisely  used  by 
the  farmers  ver^  considerably  weakened  the  force  of  their  fall  from 
ownership  to  the  other,  yet  higher,  position  of  employership.  Great 
Britain  had  set  aside  the  sum  of  £20,000,000  (about  f  100,000,000)  to  be 
paid  as  compensation  to  slave  owners  throughout  her  colonies.  It  is 
calculated  that  in  1833  Cape  Colony  had  35,700  slaves  out  of  a  total  of 
780,00.0,  which  is  about  1  in  22.  Of  the  total  sum  set  apart  for  com- 
pensation no  less  than  £1,200,000  was  set  apart  as  compensation  to  slave 
owners  in  the  Cape  Colony  which  reached  the  higher  proportion  of  1  in 
16.  The  Dutch  slave  owners  in  South  Africa  were  therefore  intended  to 
be  compensated  at  a  rate  above  the  average  paid  throughout  the  British 
colonies. 

Of  course  the  carrying  out  of  this  measure  entailed  loss  upon  many 
slave  owners,  and  the  Dutch  very  bitterly  resented  what  seemed  to 
them  a  hard  and  arbitrary  act  of  the  Imperial  power.  Too  ignorant 
to  know  what  occurred  elsewhere  they  considered  themselves  as  pecu- 
liarly wronged;  too  ignorant  to  manage  their  money  affairs  well  they 


130  CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900. 

allowed  greedy  and  clever  money  agents  to  cheat  them'  out  of  a  large 
part  of  the  compensation  due  to  them;  too  full  of  resentment  at  the 
recent  act  conferring  political  equality  upon  themselves  and  the  col- 
ored people  of  the  colony  they  saw  the  day  approaching  when  the  men 
who  had  been  their  slaves  would  have  the  same  rights  before  the  law 
as  themselves.  To  many  Dutch  farmers  this  was  all  too  hard  to  bear, 
too  bitter  a  draught  to  be  taken  quietly  and  assimilated.  For  this 
reason  above  all  others  that  can  be  named,  practically  for  this  reason 
alone,  several  thousands  of  farmers  resolved  to  leave  the  Cape  Colony 
and  seek  some  land  where  they  could  settle  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
British  policy. 

The  number  of  emigrants  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from 
5,000  to  10,000.  They  moved  north  across  the  Orange  River  into  the 
Orange  Free  State,  and  eastwards  over  the  Drakensberg  Mountains  into 
Natal;  thence  the  most  enterprising  pushed  north  again  across  the  Vaal 
River  to  form  the  South  African  Republic.  The  story  of  their  long 
journeys  into  unknown  regions,  their  heroic  struggles  against  misfor- 
tunes of  various  kinds,  and,  above  all,  their  fierce  contests  with  native 
tribes,  forms  one  of  the  most  stirring  and  picturesque  pages  in  the  his- 
tory of  European  colonization. 

Sir  Benjamin  D'Urban  soon  found  himself  under  necessity  to  engage 
in  another  Kaffir  war.  When  it  was  concluded  he  saw  a  broad  and 
magnificent  territory  at  his  disposal.  He  immediately  outlined  a  re- 
markable policy;  his  plans  was  based  upon  the  annexation  of  this 
territoty  and  provided  for  the  direct  control  of  native  tribes  and  the 
orderly  settlement  of  the  country  by  white  immigrants.  His  policy 
was  a  brilliant  one.  It  was  capable  of  adaptation  to  changing  circum- 
stances and  yet  was  reared  upon  the  fundamental  principle  that  the 
British  Government  must  deal  in  advance  with  the  native  tribes  on  or 
near  her  borders  through  official  residents  at  the  native  capitals,  or 
occasional  commissioners  sent  by  the  Governor.  If  this  policy  had 
been  adopted  the  border  wars  would  have  been  largely  reduced  in 
number,  the  feuds  between  the  farmers  and  the  blacks  would  have  been 
prevented,  the  Boer  farmers  especially  would  have  felt  that  they  were 
receiving  wise  and  adequate  protection,  and,  in  fact,  the  best  conditions 
of  steady  progress  would  have  been  established.  But  alas!  faintness 


CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900.  131 

caine  over  the  authorities  in  London  and  they  not  only  repudiated  the 
Governor's  proclamation  but  compelled  him  to  move  the  border  of  the 
Cape  Colony  back  to  where  it  was  prior  to  1819.  The  Governor's  very 
earnest  remonstrance  against  this  order  from  London  resulted  in  his 
recall.  It  was  a  disastrous  event,  as  all  students  of  South  African  his- 
tory have  decided. 

The  succeeding  years  were  marked  mainly  by  a  series  of  border 
troubles  and  Kaffir  wars,  varied  by  internal  administrative  troubles. 
Shortly  before  the  year  1850  an  event  occurred  which  once  more  showed 
how  little  the  authorities  in  London  understood  the  problems  of  South 
Africa.  So  many  troubles  had  arisen  in  that  distant  Colony,  such  poor 
reports  of  the  prospect  of  its  development,  that  it  gradually  became  an 
object  almost  of  contempt.  This  ignorant  estimate  of  the  Cape  Colonists 
led  to  the  extraordinary  decision  of  Earl  Grey,  the  Secretary  of  State, 
to  turn  Cape  Colony  into  a  penal  settlement.  It  is  said  in  defence  of 
the  Government,  that  the  convicts  whom  they  intended  to  send  there 
were  not  ordinary  criminals  but  Irish  political  offenders  for  whom  it 
was  necessary  to  find  a  home  beyond  the  seas  where  they  would  be 
unable  to  foment  any  more  plots  or  rebellions.  Whatever  the  intention 
was,  the  Government  found  themselves  opposed  by  a  unanimous  deter- 
mination of  all  Cape  Colonists  to  resist  this  disgrace.  The  Colonists,  of 
course,  won.  Earl  Grey  withdrew  his  order  and  the  ship-load  of  con- 
victs, who  had  been  kept  waiting  off  the  shore  for  weeks,  were  sent 
elsewhere. 

The  British  Government  were  evidently  surprised  by  the  spirit, 
intelligence  and  force  which  their  South  African  Colonists  manifested 
in  connection  with  this  event.  They  were  the  more  willing,  therefore, 
a  few  years  later,  to  grant  representative  government  to  a  people  so 
intelligent  and  self-conscious.  The  first  Parliament  met  in  July,  1854, 
for  legislative  purposes.  The  Executive  Council  was  still  retained  under 
the  direct  control,  and  its  members  under  the  appointment,  of  the 
Imperial  Governor. 

Sou ih  Africa  was  fortunate  at  this  time  to  receive  another  Governor 
of  great  experience  and  ability,  capable  of  formulating  a  broad  and 
intelligent  policy.  This  wras  Sir  George  Grey.  He  succeeded  in  raising 
nearly  £100,000  (nearly  |500,000),  of  which  Great  Britain  contributed 


132  CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900. 

about  one-half,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  various  public  works, 
including  the  opening  of  many  roads  and  subsidizing  the  education 
of  native  tribes.  During  his  administration  about  2,000  German  agri- 
cultural laborers,  including  their  wives  and  children,  were  settled  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  province,  and  they  have  contributed  very  largely 
to  the  rapid  progress  which  that  province  has  made.  During  the  ten 
years  which  followed  the  opening  of  Parliament  at  Cape  Town  the 
commercial  prosperity  of  the  Colony  advanced  with  great  rapidity. 
While,  in  1854,  the  exports  were  valued  at  about  £760,000  (about  $3,800,- 
000),  in  1864  they  had  reached  the  amount  of  nearly  £2,600,000  (about 
$13,000,000);  the  imports  had  risen  from  almost  £1,550,000  (about 
$7,500,000)  in  1854  to  about  £2,470,000  (more  than  $12,000,000)  in  1864. 
During  the  Governorship  of  Sir  Philip  Wodehouse,  which  began 
in  1862,  various  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  a  better  administration 
for  the  thickly  populated  native  territories  in  the  east  of  the  Colony. 
But  this  Governor  became  involved  in  difficulties  through  the  failure 
of  the  mixed  system  of  government  which  had  been  established  in  the 
Colony,  to  work  smoothly.  It  was  almost  inevitable  that  friction  should 
arise  between  a  Legislative  Chamber,  elected  on  a  popular  franchise, 
and  an  Executive  Government,  appointed  from  outside.  The  result  of 
the  discussions  and  the  unhappy  experiences  which  then  occurred, 
came  in  the  granting  of  full  responsible  self-government,  which  was 
instituted  finally  in  the  year  1872.  Again,  the  conferring  of  this  final 
degree  of  self-government  resulted  in  a  great  accession  of  energy  and 
commercial  enterprise  throughout  the  Colony.  Now  the  exports 
amounted  to  more  than  £4,200,000  (over  $20,000,000);  the  imports  in 
the  same  year  reached  the  comparatively  large  sum  of  £5,500,000  (about 
$27,000,000). 

It  was  during  this  period  that  the  opening  of  the  diamond  fields 
brought  a  rush  of  Europeans  and  a  great  increase  of  commercial  pros- 
perity to  the  Cape  Colony.  It  was  the  first  great  event  which  broke  the 
monotony  of  South  African  European  life.  Hitherto  South  Africa  was 
known  practically  as  only  a  farm  region.  The  attempts  at  viticulture 
and  the  raising  of  fruits  at  the  Cape  or  in  Xatal  had  made  little  or  no 
progress.  The  main  hope  of  ambitious  colonists  had  always  gone  in 
the  direction  of  developing  the  sheep  farming  of  the  country.  Now  for 


CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900.  133 

the  first  time  in  South  Africa  there  grew  up  a  large  town  on  a  purely 
commercial  basis.  The  rise  of  Kimberley  brought  in  many  ways  a  pro- 
found change  upon  South  Africa,  upon  Cape  Colonial  sentiments. 

In  the  year  1877  Sir  Bartle  Frere  became  Governor  of  the  Cape 
Colony  and  entered  upon  his  troubled  reign.  Elsewhere  we  deal  with 
the  causes  of  his  extraordinary  failure.  These  causes  lay  not  in  him- 
self nor  in  his  policy  nor  in  his  methods,  as  we  believe  future  historians 
will  abundantly  prove.  They  lay,  first,  in  the  policy  which  curtailed 
his  sphere  of  authority  as  High  Commissioner  and  in  the  failure  of  the 
Home  Government  to  grasp  the  real  nature  of  the  problems  which  con- 
fronted him.  They  expected  results  of  a  kind  and  with  a  rapidity 
which  those  who  really  knew  South  Africa  saw  to  be  absurd  because 
utterly  impossible. 

Cape  Colony  was  deeply  moved,  of  course,  by  that  strange  wave  of 
native  enthusiasm  and  determination  to  fight  the  whites.  It  swept 
from  the  east  coast  far  across  to  the  west  side  of  the  continent.  It 
specially  affected  the  Cape  Colony  in  so  far  as  it  troubled  the  territories 
known  as  the  Transkei,  for  which  they  were  responsible,  and,  above 
all,  as  it  excited  the  warlike  Basutos  who  had  also  been  placed  under 
their  authority.  At  this  time  the  famous  difference  occurred  between 
the  Governor  and  his  Ministry.  He  believed  that  the  latter  were  acting 
and  determined  to  act  in  an  unconstitutional  manner,  and  he  once  for 
all  defended  the  Constitution  by  dismissing  them  from  office.  Mr.  John 
Gordon  Sprigg,  who  became  his  Prime  Minister,  found  himself  involved 
at  once  in  all  the  difficulties  of  a  most  complicated  situation.  He 
attempted  to  grapple  with  the  Basuto  problem  by  means  of  "The  Peace 
Preservation  Act,"  whose  main  provision  was  that  the  natives  occupy- 
ing tribal  territories  under  the  Cape  Colony  should  be  disarmed.  This 
led  to  war  with  the  Basutos,  a  war  which  lasted  several  years,  which 
brought  no  honor  to  the  Colonial  Government,  which  resulted  in  the 
act  for  separating  once  more  Basutoland  from  the  Cape  Colony  and 
restoring  it  to  direct  Imperial  control.  This  disagreeable  business  was 
finished  in  the  year  1883. 

In  1881,  shortly  after  the  advent  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  as  a 
successor  to  Frere,  there  occurred  the  retrocession  of  the  Transvaal. 
This  event  thrilled  the  hearts  of  many  thousands  of  Dutch  farmers  in 


CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900. 

Cape  Colony  with  a  new  hope.  The  country  which  could  give  back 
native  territories  in  this  easy  way  might,  if  pressed  hard  enough,  give 
back  or  give  up  still  more.  The  Afrikander  Bond  was  formed  in  the 
heat  of  this  hope,  and  the  advent  of  that  association  at  once  exerted 
untold  influence  upon  both  social  and  political  life  throughout  Cape 
Colony.  It  derived  its  main  supporters  from  Cape  Town  and  the  western 
province,  and  from  the  districts  bordering  on  the  Orange  Free  State. 
Many  of  those  members  professed  to  be,  and,  no  doubt,  were,  loyal  to 
Great  Britain,  but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many  more,  and  they  included 
the  really  energetic  and  active  members,  seriously  discussed  together 
and  nourished  the  hope  of  hastening  the  day  when  South  Africa  should 
be  a  so-called  Dutch  Republic  and  British  authority  be  swept  into  the 
sea.  One  of  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  Bond  was  to  restore  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage to  a  level  with  the  English  on  the  floor  of  the  Cape  Parliament. 
The  result  was  that  great  power  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  organizing 
leaders  of  the  Bond  party  at  Cape  Town,  and  those  retrograde  pieces 
of  legislation  were  begun  which  marred  the  history  of  that  Parliament 
from  1883  down  to  this  date. 

Needless  to  say  the  Cape  Colony  has  been  deeply  affected  by  the 
discovery  of  gold  fields  in  the  Transvaal,  as  well  as  by  the  opening  up 
of  the  great  Colony  of  Rhodesia.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Cape 
Colonists  have  ever  cherished  pride  in  their  State  as  the  Premier 
Colony  of  South  Africa.  Among  them  lives  the  High  Commissioner 
for  all  South  Africa,  and  he  is  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony.  The 
Colony  has  been  eager  to  employ  every  means  for  maintaining  its 
primacy  in  commerce  as  well  as  in  education,  in  diplomacy  as  well  as  in 
official  dignity.  It  has  been  chiefly  anxious  to  hinder  the  opening  up 
of  trade  routes  from  other  coasts  into  the  interior,  since  it  is  evident  that 
if  railway  lines  should  run  from  harbors  whether  on  the  east  or  west 
coast  north  of  the  Cape  Colony  borders,  and  pierce  into  the  heart  of  the 
continent,  they  would  speedily  prove  more  popular  routes  than  those 
which  are  reached  by  taking  the  longer  voyage  to  Cape  Town  or  Pt. 
Elizabeth,  and  making  in  some  cases  a  longer  journey  up  country. 

The  Cape  Colony  must  henceforth  be  content  to  stand  on  an  equality 
with  the  other  members  of  the  sisterhood  of  South  African  colonies. 
The  prosperity  of  these  will  ultimately  add  to  her  own,  while  the  devel- 


,     CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900.  135 

opinent  of  their  distinctive  resources  will  tend  to  concentrate  the  atten- 
tion of  Cape  Colonists  upon  those  sources  of  wealth  which  hitherto 
have  received  scant  consideration.  Enormous  wealth  lies  before  those 
who  will  thoroughly  improve  the  breed  of  sheep,  who  will  perfect  the 
manufacture  of  wine,  who  will  open  up  the  splendid  fruit  bearing 
regions,  who  will  discover  the  best  methods  of  stock  raising  and  who 
will  in  these  ways  give  to  the  Cape  Colony  the  successful  development 
of  its  own  characteristic  treasures. 

It  remains  to  be  said  that  in  Cape  Colony  absolutely  equal  rights  are 
conferred  upon  black  people  and  white  people.  Black  people,  of  whom 
there  are  now  a  considerable  number  fairly  well  educated  and  fairly 
prosperous,  may  be  appointed  to  serve  on  juries;  and  instances  have 
been  known  where  a  black  man  has  served  on  a  jury  in  a  case  which 
involved  the  acquittal  or  condemnation  of  a  white  man.  The  franchise 
belongs  to  both  races  alike  and  on  the  same  conditions.  According  to 
the  laws  of  the  land,  as  amended  in  1892,  a  double  test  is  applied.  He 
who  would  vote,  whether  black  or  white,  must  prove  either  that  he  holds 
property  worth  £75  (about  $375)  or  receives  wages  amounting  to  £50  a 
year  (about  $250),  and,  further,  he  must  be  able  to  sign  his  name  and  to 
record  his  employment  and  his  address  in  his  own  handwriting. 

Individual  whites  no  doubt  show  contempt  for  their  black  neighbors, 
and  some  social  customs  have  grown  up  within  the  Colony  which  it  is 
hard  for  a  superior  race  to  avoid  forming  in  its  relation  to  an  inferior; 
but  the  fundamental  fact,  significant  for  the  future  history  of  the 
races,  is  to  be  found  in  this  absolute  equality  before  the  law.  On  the 
whole,  the  black  people  of  Cape  Colony  are  aware  that  before  most 
judges  and  especially  before  those  of  English  origin  they  can  be  sure  of 
having  their  cases  fairly  heard  and  justice  honorably  administered. 

The  Cape  Colony  is  at  present  undergoing  probably  the  severest 
trial  in  its  history.  The  strain  upon  the  loyalty  of  its  Dutch  people 
must  have  been  at  certain  times  within  the  last  year  almost  intolerable. 
It  ought  to  be  recorded  that  their  patience  is  very  largely  due  to  the  self- 
sacrificing  devotion  of  Mr.  W.  P.  Schreiner  and  his  colleagues,  especially 
perhaps  Mr.  Richard  Solomon.  These  men  are  fighting  as  brave  a  battle 
as  Lord  Roberts  or  General  Buller.  For  the  sake  of  their  country  and 
the  Empire  they  are  confronting  the  muttered  resentment  of  the  Bond 


136  CAPE  COLONY,  1814-1900. 

party  on  the  one  hand  and  the  blatant  Jingos  on  the  other.  When  the 
accounts  are  made  at  the  close  of  this  war  the  worth  of  the  work  of 
these  men  will  be  seen  by  those  who  can  see  such  things  to  have  been 
beyond  all  price.  It  surely  says  much  for  the  future  of  South  Africa, 
gives  us  indeed  a  bright  presage  of  the  splendid  days  which  are  to  come, 
that  Cape  Colony  is  passing  through  this  affliction  without  civil  war,  and 
it  awaits,  with  divided  feelings  no  doubt,  but  with  stern  self-repression 
and  patience,  the  approaching  day  when  conditions  shall  be  established 
under  which  the  final  reconciliation  of  the  white  races  will  surely  be 
begun,  and  the  best  treatment  of  the  enormous  native  population  will 
be  deliberately  adopted  and  steadily  pursued  by  all  the  States  and 
Colonies  of  South  Africa. 


fltS 


SM 

K§ 
£o 

oj  X 

:« 

.a" 

a 

&S 

ta  2 

o  a 


g  <a 

W  (ti 


ei 

a 

II 


g 
9 

O 

« 
EH 

o 


=     55 
S     fl^g 

*  d 
-<  i; 

^5 


a-0 


»  o 


tjx>  « 

CO          QJ 

•9  ^"S 

^a 
^3§ 

5^,, 

oHB 


00   0»5 
OJT3 

^g-g 

SS! 

is: 

NflO 

<D  O  ^ 

^s-s 

00  £3 

a>  v 
>.a 


So 
a 


tt 


s- 

8  o 


flj 

« 

P 

O 


•a 


*jl 

Ssl 

•2s 


^j  OS 


,C  W3 
eg^ 

S-o 

A  a 


CHAPTER    X. 
THE    TRANSVAAL    REPUBLIC. 

SECTION    I.      THE   EARLIER    HISTORY   OF   THE   TRANSVAAL. 

ONE  of  the  Boer  leaders  in  the  fierce  battle  of  Boomplaats,  in 
1848,  where  the  British  were  victorious,  was  A.  W.  J.  Pretorius. 
He  fled  northwards,  followed  by  a  large  party  of  the  more 
determined  and  irreconcilable  immigrants.  A  reward  of  £2,000  (about 
$10,000)  was  offered  for  his  apprehension.  The  British  did  not  pursue 
him  across  the  Vaal  River,  especially  as  their  small  available  force  was 
engaged  in  fierce  fighting  with  the  Kaffirs  in  the  east.  While  the 
British  authorities  were  involved  in  these  and  other  difficulties  the 
Boers  across  the  Vaal  River  resolved  to  appeal  once  more  for  recogni- 
tion as  an  independent  state.  The  Governor,  Sir  Harry  Smith,  decided 
to  grant  their  request  and  a  conference  was  held  within  the  Orange 
Free  State,  which  resulted  in  what  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the 
Sand  River  Convention. 

It  must  be  clearly  observed  that  in  this  act  the  Queen  of  Great 
Britain,  through  her  representatives,  wras  in  no  position  of  submitting 
to  terms  dictated  by  victorious  enemies  nor  making  a  treaty  with  any 
organized  nationality  having  an  independent  standing.  She  was  deal- 
ing with  men  whom  she  considered  as  her  subjects  and  who  were  so 
considered  by  the  rest  of  the  wrorld,  so  far  as  it  thought  of  them  at  all. 
In  the  next  place  in  granting  them  the  powers  of  self-government  the 
Queen  did  so  on  certain  conditions,  on  whose  fulfillment  the  continu- 
ance of  that  self-government  must  be  supposed  to  have  rested.  The 
document  is  a  very  simple  and  a  very  short  one,  and  was  signed  on 
the  17th  day  of  January,  1852.  The  names  of  the  signatories  are  curious- 
ly mixed  up,  those  of  the  British  commissioners  standing  amongst  those 
of  the  representative  Boer  farmers  with  whom  the  agreement  was  made. 
The  important  parts  of  the  convention  are  as  follows:  Her  Majesty's 
assistant  commissioners  are  represented  as  settling  and  adjusting  the 
affairs  of  the  eastern  and  northeastern  boundaries  of  the  Colony  of  the 

139 


140  THE  TRAXSi'AAL  REPUBLIC. 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  they  have  held  a  meeting  with  a  deputation 
from  the  immigrant  farmers  residing  north  of  the  Vaal  River.  "The 
assistant  commissioners  guarantee  in  the  fullest  manner,  on  the  part 
of  the  British  Government,  to  the  immigrant  farmers  beyond  the  Vaal 
Kiver,  the  right  to  manage  their  own  affairs  and  to  govern  themselves 
according  to  their  own  laws,  without  any  interference  on  the  part  of 
the  British  Government;  and  that  no  encroachment  shall  be  made  by 
the  said  Government  on  the  territory  beyond,  to  the  north  of  the  Vaal 
River,  with  the  further  assurance  that  the  warmest  wish  of  the  British 
Government  is  to  promote  peace,  free  trade,  and  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  immigrant  farmers  now  inhabiting,  or  who  may  hereafter 
inhabit,  that  country,  it  being  understood  that  this  system  of  non- 
interference is  binding  upon  both  parties. 

"Should  any  misunderstanding  hereafter  arise  as  to  the  true  mean- 
ing of  the  words  the  Vaal  River,  this  question,  in  so  far  as  regards  the 
line  from  the  source  of  that  river  over  the  Drakensberg,  shall  be  settled 
and  adjusted  by  commissioners  chosen  by  both  parties. 

"Her  Majesty's  assistant  commissioners  hereby  disclaim  all  alliances 
whatsoever  and  with  whomsoever  of  the  colored  nations  to  the  north 
of  the  Vaal  River. 

"It  is  agreed  that  no  slavery  is,  or  shall  be,  permitted  in  the  country 
to  the  north  of  the  Vaal  River  by  the  immigrant  farmers." 

The  remaining  four  paragraphs  deal  with  matters  of  trade,  courts 
of  law,  certificates  of  marriage,  and.  the  free  movement  of  individuals 
from  one  side  of  the  Vaal  River  to  the  other  in  either  direction.  It  is 
distinctly  laid  down  that  "mutual  facilities  and  liberty  shall  be  afforded 
to  traders  ami  travellers  on  both  sides  of  the  Vaal  River." 

It  must  be  observed  that  the  ambitious  name  of  the  "South  African 
Republic"  claimed  by  the  immigrant  farmers  is  not  used  or  recognized 
by  this  document. 

Further  it  is  of  importance  to  notice  that  nothing  was  said,  or 
probably  could  have  been  said,  regarding  the  boundaries  of  the  Gov- 
ernment here  recognized.  Much  of  the  region  into  which  they  had  gone 
was  practically  unexplored,  and  therefore  unknown  to  the  British 
authorities.  Mr.  Theal  has  risked  the  statement  that  "roughly  speaking, 
they  (the  boundaries)  were  the  Limpopo  River  on  the  north,  the  Vaal 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  141 

River  and  a  line  a  little  above  Kuruuiau  on  the  south,  the  Kala- 
hari desert  on  the  west,  and  the  mountainous  country  corresponding 
with  the  Drakensberg  on  the  east."  This  statement  concedes  too  much, 
even  although  it  does  not  go  to  the  extreme  length  which  the  Transvaal 
delegates  went  when  they  placed  their  proposals  before  the  Earl  of 
Derby  in  London  in  the  year  1883.  It  is  of  significance  that  the  docu- 
ment always  uses  the  phrase  "north  of  the  Vaal  River"  as  the  one 
geographical  term  adequately  describing  the  territory  in  question.  Of 
course,  only  a  small  part  of  the  immense  territory  now  covered  by  the 
South  African  Republic  was  at  that  time  actually  occupied  by  the 
immigrant  farmers,  and  the  question  is  how  much  territory  eastwards, 
westwards  and  northwards  may  fairly  be  said  to  have  been  in  view 
of  both  parties  at  the  time  of  the  Convention.  To  say  that  Mr.  Pretorius 
stretched  his  ambition  as  far  as  Kuruman  on  the  west  or  the  northern- 
most point  of  the  Limpopo  River,  is  surely  to  give  him  credit  for  a 
much  larger  ambition  than  was  possible  at  that  time.  What  is  per- 
fectly evident  is,  that,  by  the  strict  terms  of  this  Convention  at  least, 
no  land  west  of  the  western  end  of  the  Vaal  River  could  have  been 
claimed  by  the  immigrant  farmers.  If  they  had  at  that  time  announced 
it  as  their  conception  of  the  case  that  their  territory  included  the  region 
of  Bechuanaland  which  had  for  many  years  now  been  penetrated  by 
the  missionaries  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  with  Moffat  and 
Livingstone  among  them,  and  by  the  traders  who  followed  the  route 
which  they  opened  up,  the  British  commissioners  would,  beyond  doubt, 
have  disallowed  this  claim.  In  determining  the  actual  meaning  of  such 
a  document  the  entire  circumstances  on  both  sides  must  be  taken  into 
account;  and  they,  as  subsequent  conventions  have  proved,  indicated 
that  the  terms  of  that  Convention  applied,  not  to  an  unlimited  territory 
reaching  more  than  half  way  across  the  continent,  but  to  the  territory 
already  occupied,  or  which  could  be  easily  occupied  within  a  reasonable 
time  and  without  injury  to  other  interests  by  the  immigrant  farmers. 
The  Article  which  states  that  the  British  Government  disclaim  all 
alliances  with  natives  to  the  north  of  the  Vaal  River  must  be  inter- 
preted in  the  same  way;  and  it  can  be  proved  that  no  such  alliances 
have  ever  been  made  since  that  date  by  Great  Britain  until  more  than 
thirty  years  afterwards,  when  native  chiefs  in  Bechuanaland,  after 


142  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

repeated  appeals  to  the  British  Government  for  protection  from  the 
Boers,  were  declared  to  be  under  the  British  protectorate.  But  that 
story  shall  be  told  later. 

The  fourth  Article  is  of  immense  importance  not  only  as  indicating 
what  was  the  prevailing  and  acknowledged  idea  concerning  the  attitude 
of  the  Boers  towards  the  slavery  question,  and  their  reputed  treatment 
of  natives,  but  as  forming  a  political  basis  for  inquiry  into  the  question 
whether  the  conditions  of  the  Sand  River  Convention  were  actually 
observed  by  the  Transvaal  Boers  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  particulars. 
This  also  is  a  story  for  later  pages. 

The  immigrant  farmers  who  had  received  recognition  as  a  self- 
governing  community  did  not  for  a  number  of  years  exceed  20,000  men, 
women  and  children.  They  were  farmers  distinctively  and  exclusively, 
and  they  therefore  selected  from  the  vast  territory  at  their  disposal 
those  sections  most  favorable  for  agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits. 
It  is  a  recognized  law  of  human  history  that  the  pastoral  represents 
a  lower  stage  of  development  than  the  agricultural;  it  is  therefore  of 
great  significance  that  the  Boer  farmers  of  the  Transvaal  tended  to 
become  less  and  less  of  agriculturists  and  to  attach  their  ideas  of 
wealth  and  prosperity  to  the  extent  of  their  flocks  and  herds.  This 
meant  that  every  farm  must  be  large,  must  consist  of  from  4,000  to 
6,000  morgen  or  from  2,000  to  3,000  acres,  and  must  be  merely  superin- 
tended by  the  Boer  owner;  the  actual  work  of  attending  to  the  stock  or 
raising  the  small  crops  necessary  being  left  almost  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  native  servants,  as  soon  as  these  could  be  obtained  and  trained  for 
that  purpose. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  Transvaal  Boers  formed  themselves 
not  into  one  but  into  several  small  republics.  For  twelve  years  there 
were  at  least  four  of  these,  whose  centers  were  respectively  known  as 
Potchefstroom,  Zoutpansberg,  Lydenburg  and  Utrecht.  Between  these 
several  republics  there  were  differences  which  became  so  bitter  that  on 
more  than  one  occasion  there  were  brief  and  slight  battles  among  them. 
The  bloodshed  was  happily  not  abundant,  and  the  strife  did  not  prevent 
them  from  uniting  in  strong  sympathy  as  soon  as  any  movement  out- 
wards on  native  tribes  was  necessary.  Efforts  at  the  union  of  the  four 
began  in  1857,  when  Pretorius,  who  was  called  President  of  the  republic 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  143 

at  Potschefstroom,  gradually  obtained  the  assent  of  the  other  three 
centers  to  a  constitution,  and  at  last,  in  1864,  the  one  Republic  was 
actually  established.  Its  President  was  Martinus  Wessel  Pretorius, 
and  the  Commanding-General  was  one  whose  name  was  destined  to 
become  famous  far  and  wide  in  after  days,  namely  Stephanus  Johannes 
Paulus  Kruger. 

It  is  strange  to  discover  that  in  this  very  year,  1852,  on  November 
22d,  the  famous  and  high-souled  Robert  Moffat  wrote  a  letter  to  London, 
in  which  he  announced  that  the  very  Convention  which  we  have  de- 
scribed was  being  made  the  basis  and  reason  by  the  Boers  for  carrying 
on  war  against  tribes  far  distant  from  the  main  centers  of  the  Boer 
populations.  After  describing  various  attacks  made  upon  different 
tribes  in  which  mission  work  had  been  begun,  he  goes  on  to  say,  "The 
Boers  can  give  no  reason  whatever  for  all  this,  except  it  be  that  all 
the  apprentices  must  become  their  vassals;  and  they  conceive  that 
they  have  a  special  right  to  engage  in  wars  and  to  depose  chiefs  of  the 
lands.of  their  forefathers,  on  account  of  the  late  treaty  between  them 
and  the  British  Government,  in  which  their  independence  north  of  the 
Vaal  River  is  acknowledged  and  proclaimed.  Every  account  of  rapine 
and  bloodshed  is  carried  on  with  the  excuse  that  the  country  is  theirs 
by  authority  of  the  Queen  of  England.  This  strange  note  jars  horribly 
on  the  ears  of  the  natives.  Their  estimation  of  England  was  once  very 
high." 

In  the  year  1857-58  the  Republic  began  to  cast  its  eyes  westwards 
and  entered  upon  a  policy  of  territorial  expansion  towards  Bechuana- 
land.  The  trouble  for  the  Bechuanas  was  begun  by  a  Bushman,  who 
committed  depredations  in  the  Orange  Free  State  and  carried  his  booty 
across  the  Vaal  River  into  Bechuanaland.  Here  he  was  unfortunately 
allowed  to  settle  by  the  paramount  chief  of  the  Batlaping  tribe.  His 
success  and  apparent  immunity  encouraged  several  others  to 
follow  his  example,  and  they  too  succeeded  in  making  raids  both  into 
the  Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State  and  bringing  home  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  live  stock  and  some  fine  horses.  As  soon  as  pos- 
sible a  party  of  Dutchmen  was  sent  into  this  district,  the  leaders  were 
killed  and  the  chief  himself,  who  had  given  them  custody,  was  shot  and 
beheaded.  The  Dutchmen,  not  content  with  punishing  so  severely  the 


144  THE    TRAXSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

other  depredators,  pushed  on  to  the  village  of  Taungs,  where  a  number 
of  refugees  from  the  already  punished  tribe  had  taken  refuge.  The 
chief  of  this  district,  Mahure  by  name,  had  himself  disapproved  the 
raids  and  none  of  his  people  had  taken  part  in  them,  but  the  Dutchmen 
compelled  him  to  promise  payment  of  an  exceedingly  heavy  indemnity, 
amounting  to  8,000  cattle,  300  horses,  and  500  guns,  besides  10  men 
accused  of  murder.  This  fine  was  of  course  an  impossible  one,  and  it  is 
probable  that  Mahure  did  not  know  its  real  amount  when  he  agreed 
to  it.  The  missionaries  have  always  asserted  that  none  of  the  Christian 
chiefs  of  the  Batlaping  tribe  villages  had  taken  any  part  in  these  raids, 
and  they  felt,  therefore,  that  the  threats  uttered  by  the  Dutchmen 
against  the  whole  Batlaping  tribe  were  unjust.  Nevertheless  the 
Dutchmen  issued  a  warning  that  in  the  following  year  they  would  carry 
their  raids  westwards,  even  as  far  as  Kuruman. 

About  that  time  they  heard  that  the  representatives  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  who  were  considerably  increased  in  numbers,  were 
contemplating,  under  the  inspiration  of  Moffat  and  Livingstone,  an 
extension  of  their  missionary  work  as  far  north  as  the  Zambesi  Kiver. 
A  letter  was  therefore  sent  to  Dr.  Moffat  informing  him  that  no  mis- 
sionaries would  be  allowed  to  proceed  north  without  permission  granted 
by  the  President  of  the  South  African  Republic!  This  warning  was 
actually  made  while  there  were  still  four  republics  in  the  Transvaal 
and  in  the  name  of  Pretorius,  whose  only  center  of  rule  and  authority 
was  at  Potschefstroom.  On  hearing  of  these  transactions  Sir  George 
Grey,  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony,  sent  a  letter  of  remonstrance  to 
Pretorius  which  had  two  results.  In  the  first  place  a  reply  was  sent 
to  Cape  Town,  in  which  Pretorius  expressed  his  own  admiration  and 
high  regard  for  the  noble  Christian  work  of  the  missionaries  at  Kuru- 
man. The  second  result  was  that  the  threatened  invasion  of  Bechuana- 
land  was  abandoned,  and  not  for  many  years  was  any  claim  heard  that 
the  Boers  had  rights  of  sovereignty  in  that  region. 

SECTION    II.     THE   TRANSVAAL.   1864-1877. 

It  was  in  1858  that  Marthinus  Wessel  Pretorius,  who  was  at  that 
time  President  of  the  little  Republic  at  Potchefstrom,  drew  up  the  docu- 
ment which  ultimatelv  became  the  Constitution  of  the  South 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  14.~> 

Africa  Republic.  It  took  six  years  before  the  other  three  little  states 
adopted  this  Constitution  and  the  one  Government  was  established  over 
the  whole  country.  The  four  communities  were  very  jealous  of  one 
another  and  several  fights  took  place  ere  the  union  was  consummated. 

From  that  year,  1864,  onward  the  history  of  the  Transvaal  really 
consisted  in  its  struggles  with  the  surrounding  tribes  and  the  occa- 
sional changes  in  its  supreme  officers.  The  internal  history  contains 
almost  nothing  that  can  be  recorded.  No  progress  of  any  kind  either  in 
social  or  political  organization  was  made;  rather  is  the  story  of  the 
internal  affairs  of  the  Republic  the  story  of  growing  ignorance  and 
bitterness  until  a  state  of  actual  collapse  was  reached.  The  population 
was  increasing  at  a  considerable  rate,  and  as  it  increased  the  distance  of 
the  furthest  farmers  from  the  little  villages  which  they  called  towns, 
became  too  large  for  anything  like  frequent  communication.  A  gener- 
ation of  Boers  therefore  grew  up  who  were  really  more  ignorant  than 
the  fathers  who  had  first  entered  the  land.  Fewer  of  them  could  read  or 
write,  fewer  of  them  had  ever  tasted  anything  of  an  orderly  government, 
even  for  the  pleasure  of  repudiating  it,  fewer  of  them  had  ever  been 
pricked  in  conscience  as  to  their  treatment  of  the  dependent  jraces. 
More  of  them  took  for  granted  that  their  isolated  way  of  life  was  that 
which  the  will  of  God  ordained,  and  that  the  clearing  out  of  blacks, 
"brambles"  as  they  were  often  euphemistically  called,  was  a  divine  duty 
imposed  by  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  No  roads  were  made, 
and  hardly  ever  a  bridge  was  thought  of.  Trade  was  carried  on  by 
means  of  barter  almost  entirely,  except  when  a  wandering  trader  from 
abroad  or  an  enterprising  hunter  or  a  hated  missionary  came  to  their 
farms  for  supplies.  These  always  were  expected  to  pay  in  coin  of  the 
.British  realm,  whose  value  was  much  prized  while  the  image  and  super- 
scription were  detested. 

The  first  trouble  of  any  importance  with  an  outside  people  began  in 
the  beginning  of  1865,  when  the  Baramapulana  tribe  offered  resistance 
to  some  depredations  by  a  Boer  commando.  This  tribe  occupied  a  vary 
strong  position  in  a  mountainous  region  in  the  north  of  the  Transvaal. 
They  had  for  some  years  formed  the  habit,  as  all  native  tribes  did  so 
rapidly,  of  purchasing  guns  from  white  traders;  and  this  gave  them  of 
course  a  much  greater  advantage  when  fighting  with  the  Boers,  com- 


146  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

pared  with  that  which  even  more  warlike  tribes  had  enjoyed  when  they 
were  armed  only  with  the  spear  and  javelin.  Mr.  Theal,  the  well-known 
describer  of  South  African  history  from  the  pro-Boer  and  anti-mission- 
ary point  of  view,  states  the  beginning  of  this  war  as  follows:  "In 
April,  1865,  when  searching  for  a  fugitive  offender,  some  of  the  lawless 
Europeans  and  a  party  of  blacks  who  were  assisting  them,  committed 
acts  of  great  violence  upon  the  outposts  of  the  tribe,  and  a  general  war 
was  brought  on."  When  translated  into  less  clouded  language  it  means 
that  some  one,  most  probably  a  native  and  very  probably  a  slave,  who 
at  30  years  of  age  thought  his  apprenticeship,  which  legally  came  to  an 
end  at  22  years  of  age,  ought  to  cease,  had  fled  across  the  indeterminate 
border  into  the  territory  of  this  tribe,  or  perhaps  a  herd  had  run  off  with 
some  cattle,  or  it  may  be  that  an  adventurous  spirit  of  this  tribe  had 
stolen  a  cow  from  a  Boer  farmer.  All  these  were  things  that  happened 
all  round  the  Transvaal  territory,  and  were  made  the  occasion  con- 
stantly for  calling  a  commando  to  go  and  attack  the  tribe  whose  chief 
and  headmen  may  have  been  absolutely  innocent  of  all  wrong,  who  may 
have  been  in  the  first  place  the  injured  party,  and  who  now  had  no 
alternative  but  to  fight  or  lose  their  land  and  cattle  without  fighting. 

On  the  occasion  here  referred  to  the  Boers  found  themselves  involved 
in  a  larger  task  than  they  anticipated.  The  leader  of  the  Boer  forces 
was  no  less  a  man  than  the  Commandant  General  Paul  Kruger.  He 
found  that  the  southern  burghers  refused  utterly  to  help  their  northern 
brethren  in  this  struggle.  He  himself  advanced  with  his  troops  as 
boldly  as  usual,  but  to  his  own  chagrin  and  the  consternation  of  the 
entire  country,  was  defeated  and  forced  to  retire.  So  complete  was  the 
reverse  that  the  Boer  farmers  had  to  desert  the  neighboring  district,  and 
the  rich  region  of  the  Zoutpansberg  was  forsaken  by  the  white  farmers 
for  some  years. 

The  newrs  of  this  native  triumph  spread  of  course  as  all  news  does 
with  the  utmost  rapidity  from  tribe  to  tribe.  Others  grew  bolder  in 
every  direction,  feeling  that  defeat  was  not  inevitable  and  the  Boers  not 
invincible.  In  Bechuanaland  several  chiefs  whose  names  afterwards 
came  very  much  to  the  front  in  connection  with  border  disputes,  at  this 
time  began  their  courageous  attitude. 

On  the  southwestern  corner  a  very  important  dispute  had  gradually 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  147 

been  gathering  in  bitterness  and  determination.  The  Boers  claimed 
that  this  territory,  which  is  opposite  the  diamond  fields  north  of  the 
Vaal  river,  belonged  to  them.  The  native  chiefs  alleged  that  no  treaty 
and  no  conquest  could  be  produced  in  evidence  of  this  claim,  that  the 
territory  had  belonged  to  them  and  their  ancestors  for  a  long  time. 
President  Pretorius  got  into  correspondence  with  the  Governor  at  Cape 
Town  over  this,  and  it  was  agreed  to  submit  the  matter  to  a  court  of 
arbitration.  They  decided  that  in  case  of  disagreement  between  the 
two  arbitrators  the  matter  should  be  submitted  to  a  final  umpire.  It 
is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  remember  the  fact  as  often  as  the  "Keate 
Aw^ard,"  as  it  is  called,  is  mentioned,  whether  by  Boer  or  British, 
whether  for  condemnation  or  approval,  that  Mr.  Keate,  who  was  then 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  Natal,  was  actually  nominated  as  umpire  by 
President  Pretorius  himself.  The  arbitrators  of  course  disagreed  and 
Governor  Keate  travelled  across  the  country  to  receive  the  evidence 
and  come  to  a  decision.  It  is  alleged  by  the  Boer's  friends  that  Pre- 
torius and  his  attorneys  presented  their  case  very  weakly,  and  that  ma}- 
well  have  been  the  case.  But  no  one  is  able  to  dispute  that  on  the  evi- 
dence presented  to  him  Governor  Keate  gave  a  sound  decision. 
Although  the  Transvaal  had  been  by  its  President  committed  to  accept 
this  Award,  the  Raad  promptly  repudiated  the  whole  proceedings,  and 
insisted  upon  the  resignation  of  President  Pretorius.  This  occurred  in 
the  end  of  the  year  1871. 

The  Boers  made  up  their  minds  under  some  strange  inspiration,  that 
what  they  lacked  in  their  rulers  was  education  and  acquaintance  with 
the  affairs  of  the  world.  They  decided  therefore  that  the  next  Presi- 
dent must  be  a  man  who  knew  more  than  the  ordinary  matters  concern- 
ing Boer  farmers  and  native  disputes;  must  be  a  man  in  fact  of  real 
training,  large  experience  and  acknowledged  power.  Such  a  man  they 
thought  they  had  found  in  the  person  of  Thomas  Francois  Burgers. 
This  man  had  at  one  time  been  a  minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  whose  views  had  grown  too  broad  for  that  office  and  who  was 
now  available  for  service  in  political  life.  As  described  on  all  hands 
by  those  who  knew  him,  he  was  a  man  of  unbounded  vigor  of  intellect, 
great  ambition,  real  knowledge  of  affairs,  and  possessing  also  a  great 
gift  of  ringing  and  persuasive  oratory. 


148  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC, 

No  sooner  was  Burgers  in  the  Presidential  chair,  than  he  launched 
out  into  the  most  ambitious  schemes.  He  told  the  Boers  that  their 
country  ought  before  long  to  be  inhabited  by  8,000,000  people,  white 
people  of  course,  and  that  they  ought  to  attain  a  speedy  international 
standing  and  high  dignity  amongst  the  powers  of  the  world.  He  in- 
sisted that  this  could  not  be  attained  without  extensive  public  improve- 
ments in  the  way  of  roads,  bridges,  railways,  and  so  on.  They  must 
have  better  laws,  especially  dealing  in  a  broader  way  with  government 
lands  and  native  lands.  Legislation  having  in  view  all  these  improve- 
ments in  administration  and  government  was  secured,  and  in  good 
time  President  Burgers  proceeded  on  an  important  visit  to  Europe  in 
order  to  obtain  the  money  wherewith  to  begin  the  vast  schemes  which 
he  had  outlined.  This  mission  was  a  comparative  failure.  Instead  of 
the  £300,000  (about  f  1,500,000)  which  he  aimed  at  he  could  only  secure 
£90,000  (about  $450,000).  With  this  sum  he  purchased  the  material 
necessary  for  building  a  railway,  and  had  this  transported  promptly  to 
Lorenzo  Marques,  where  it  lay  undisturbed  for  years  and  went  to  rust 
and  destruction.  On  his  return  to  his  country  he  found  that  the  acting- 
President  Joubert  and  the  Commandant-General  Kruger  had  co-operated 
ardently  in  the  work  of  undoing  all  that  he  had  with  infinite  pains 
managed  to  attain.  They  deliberately  ignored  his  legislation  and  ren- 
dered it  impossible  to  realize  a  number  of  his  administrative  schemes; 
they  also  used  his  absence  as  an  opportunity  for  stimulating  public 
prejudice  against  him.  The  chief  ground  of  accusation  against  him  was 
that  he  was  an  unbeliever,  while  they  were  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 
This  contrast  was  driven  home  with  such  persistence  and  power  that  it 
gradually  spread  through  the  country  a  feeling  of  dread  that  they  should 
be  found  under  the  direction  of  an  unbeliever.  Many  of  them  could  not 
see  how  they  should  expect  prosperity  when  a  man  accused  of  such  ter- 
rific departures  from  the  faith  was  their  President. 

These  things  happened  up  to  the  year  1875.  In  the  year  following 
difficulties  began  with  the  tribe  of  the  Bapedi,  who  had  as  their  chief  a 
strong  man  by  name  Secocoeni.  As  usual  the  dispute  was  about  land, 
and  as  usual  the  Boers  determined  to  end  the  dispute  by  an  attack  upon 
this  tribe.  Burgers  himself  led  in  this  war,  finding  himself  at  the  head 
of  about  2,500  white  men  and  several  hundreds  of  black  men.  The 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  149 

quarrel  had  arisen  not  with  Secocoeni  in  the  first  place,  but  with  his 
brother,  a  Christian  man  called  Johannes  who  lived  at  the  mission  sta- 
tion of  a  Mr.  Merensky.  He  fled  of  course  from  this  place  when  the 
trouble  began,  and  was  protected  by  his  brother,  the  chief.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  this  chief  had  never  been  and  was  in  no  sense  a  sub- 
ject of  the  Republic  when  this  war  began,  and  that  this  land  had  been 
under  the  actual  occupation  of  his  own  brother  as  part  of  the  tribal  ter- 
ritory. 

The  Boers  were  successful  in  two  opening  battles  of  their  campaign, 
the  second  of  these  taking  place  at  the  stronghold  which  Johannes  had 
occupied.  The  Boers  left  the  actual  attack  to  their  horrible  allies,  the 
Swazis,  and  allowed  them  when  the  place  was  captured  to  destroy  it; 
the  women  and  children  were  killed  with  the  utmost  barbarism.  Jo- 
hannes himself  was  fatally  wounded;  he  lingered  only  two  days  and 
died,  taking  leave  of  his  people  in  the  most  solemn  fashion,  urging  his 
brother  to  become  a  reader  of  the  Word  of  God.  It  is  scarcely  possible 
to  read  descriptions,  more  than  can  be  recorded  in  these  pages,  of  attacks 
like  these  upon  native  chiefs,  some  of  whom  were  at  least  as  earnest  and 
religious,  at  least  as  honorable  and  peace-loving  as  the  ordinary  white 
man,  without  feelings  of  the  utmost  shame.  And  when  one  remembers 
that  the  people  who  did  this  kind  of  thing  were  not  isolated  irresponsi- 
ble blackguards,  but  the  leaders  and  soldiers  of  a  nation  which  is  being 
described  all  over  the  world  as  a  distinctively  religious  people,  and  that 
they  carried  on  these  practices  under  the  cloak  of  Old  Testament  exam- 
ples, natural  horror  at  the  scenes  depicted  becomes  moral  indignation 
at  the  excuses  urged  in  their  defense. 

On  the  2nd  of  August  in  the  year  1876,  the  Boers  attacked  the  moun- 
tain on  which  Secocoeni  himself  was  intrenched.  Only  a  few  of  the 
Boers  had  the  courage  to  face  this  problem,  for  as  soldiers  they  have 
ever  been  accustomed  to  fighting  in  the  open  with  those  who  had  no  fire- 
arms, and  from  behind  breastworks  and  trenches  when  dealing  with 
those  who  possessed  them.  This  attack  therefore  failed,  and  the  entire 
Boer  army  returned  in  disgrace  to  Pretoria.  The  President  had  suf- 
ficient energy  to  build  a  fort  at  a  place  called  Steelport,  where  he  after- 
wards kept  a  few  men  to  guard  against  invasion  of  the  Transvaal. 

Consternation  thrilled  through  all  South  Africa,  black  and  white,  at 


150  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

the  news  of  this  disaster  to  the  white  men.  The  Boers  themselves  could 
not  be  aroused  to  any  fresh  effort.  A  special  meeting  of  the  Kaad  was 
called  and  it  was  decided  to  entrust  the  further  operation  of  the  war  to 
a  body  of  volunteers.  These  were  to  be  raised  by  a  foreigner  named 
Schlickmann,  who  was  succeeded  later  by  a  very  clever  and  unscrupu- 
lous Irishman  called  Aylward.  The  latter,  some  years  later,  found  it 
so  necessary  to  clear  his  name  and  to  attack  the  British  relations  to  the 
Transvaal,  that  he  wrote  a  considerable  volume,  which  failed  in  both  of 
these  aims.  These  men  secured  as  their  volunteers  a  strange  mixture 
of  desperadoes  from  different  parts  of  South  Africa,  men  who  for  the 
most  part  were  wandering  about  in  search  of  excitement,  who  were 
attracted  by  the  prospect  of  a  war  which  was  legitimized  by  a  Govern- 
ment and  by  the  prospect  of  liberal  rewards  in  lands  and  plunder  which 
were  offered  to  them.  Some  of  the  horrors  performed  by  these  "filibus- 
ters," as  the  newspapers  of  South  Africa  speedily  nicknamed  them,  are 
too  dreadful  for  record.  Of  course  they  failed  in  their  main  object,  and 
the  war  lingered  on  in  the  most  miserable  fashion,  increasing  the  pres- 
tige of  the  black  men  and  strengthening  the  convictions  of  the  Zulus 
and  Swazis  that  their  day  of  vengeance  had  come. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Oetywayo,  the  powerful  Zulu  chief,  made  up  his 
mind  that  his  hour  had  come  for  washing  his  spears  in  the  blood  of  the 
Boers.  In  the  spring  of  1877  he  made  quiet  but  effective  preparations 
for  an  attack  upon  the  Transvaal. 

The  Boers  then,  after  twelve  years'  effort  at' self-government,  had 
utterly  failed.  No  other  word  can  be  written  across  the  history  of  those 
years  than  the  word  "collapse."  These  people  had  asked  for  self- 
government  from  the  Queen,  who  gave  it  to  them;  they  had  failed 
egregiously  not  only  in  maintaining  right  relations  to  the  native  peoples 
but  in  managing  their  own  affairs;  their  taxes  were  unpaid;  their 
officers  received  their  salaries  long  after  they  were  due,  and  in  yery  un- 
certain installments.  Bitterness  among  themselves  was  now  approach- 
ing a  very  intense  degree,  inasmuch  as  an  election  of  representatives  was 
approaching  and  a  supreme  contest  was  raging  between  Kruger  and 
Burgers  for  the  Presidentship.  Observers  of  the  country  at  this  time 
predicted  that,  if  such  an  election  took  place  war  would  break  out 
amongst  the  white  men  themselves.  Burgers  had  tried  in  vain  to  obtain 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  151 

loans  in  Europe;  he  had  even  sought  alliances  with  various  European 
powers  including  Germany  and  Holland,  but  these  had  consistently  de- 
clined. The  country  therefore  had  a  gradually  increasing  debt,  abso- 
lutely no  credit,  no  administration,  no  taxes,  nothing  in  fact  of  all  the 
activities  that  constitute  a  living  government.  This  was  the  position 
of  affairs  in  1876  when  the  British  Government  first  stepped  in. 

SECTION    III.      CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    BOERS. 

It  has  been  wittily  said  that  the  Boers  went  to  South  Africa  in  the 
seventeenth  century  and  have  been  travelling  backwards  ever  since. 
This,  of  course,  is  not  true  of  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  the  Cape 
Colony  and  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  The  fact  is  that  circum- 
stances have  divided  the  entire  Dutch  people  of  South  Africa  roughly 
into  two  classes.  One  class  consists  of  those  who  have  had  the  good 
fortune  to  live  in  or  near  European  towns,  or  have  possessed  farms  on 
some  of  the  main  roads  of  travel.  These  have  of  course  made  great 
progress  in  culture  of  various  kinds.  They  are  quite  equal  to  any  of 
their  white  neighbors  of  whatever  descent,  German  or  English  or 
Scotch.  As  one  travels  north  and  west  in  Cape  Colony  one  finds  that 
the  people  gradually  deteriorate  in  character  and  attainments  until,  in 
the  Orange  Free  State,  the  quality  of  the  Dutch  farmer  suddenly  rises 
again.  Hence  it  is  that  we  find  such  contradictory  accounts  and  such 
confusion  of  mind  in  many  directions,  both  in  England  and  America, 
when  the  Dutch  of  South  Africa  are  being  discussed.  People  contra- 
dict each  other  with  the  utmost  heat  when  they  are  not  discussing  the 
same  subject!  In  Africa  the  name  Boer  is  now  given  to  those  of  the  Dutch 
population  wrho  have  pushed  farthest  away  from  centers  of  civilization, 
and  the  name  has  been  long  ere  this  used  in  a  special  manner  concern- 
ing the  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal.  The  world  is  to-day  chiefly  inter- 
ested not  in  those  Dutch  people  who  have  grown  into  the  possession  of 
an  ordinary  European  education  and  civilization,  but  in  the  Boers  who 
have  pursued  other  ideals  and  who  to-day  confront  Great  Britain  for 
the  preservation,  as  they  imagine,  of  those  ideals. 

In  the  first  place,  be  it  observed  that  the  Boers  entered  the  Trans- 
vaal fighting;  that  they  have  extended  the  borders  of  the  Transvaal 
until  to-day  it  is  larger  than  France,  by  fighting;  that  their  whole  career 


152  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

is  a  career  of  warfare,  and  their  principal  national  organizations  have 
hitherto  been  created  for  the  purposes  of  war.  Hence  we  must  be  pre- 
pared to  find  the  Boer  a  man  of  great  vigor  and  independence  and  deter- 
mination. His  vigor  is  nurtured  by  his  healthy  life  in  the  open  air; 
his  independence  is  nourished  by  the  largeness  of  his  farms,  for  it  is 
a  small  farm  which  measures  less  than  three  square  miles  in  extent; 
and  his  determination  of  will  is  strengthened  by  every  attack  which  he 
makes  successfully  upon  a  native  tribe,  by  every  call  which  his  leaders 
address  to  him  to  fear  and  resist  the  approach  of  an  English  "tyranny." 

The  kind  of  life  which  thus  the  Boer  determined  to  pursue  has  re- 
sulted in  the  creation  of  what  we  must  call  land-hunger.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  curious  and  striking  characteristics  of  the  Boer  people  in  the 
Transvaal.  The  possession  of  land  is  the  supreme  social  ideal.  It  is 
this  which  gives  a  man  status  among  his  fellow  citizens;  it  is  this  which 
is  a  test  of  his  worth,  the  more  land  the  greater  the  man.  The  man 
who  owns  none  is  an  object  of  pity,  if  not  of  contempt.  This  passion 
has  exercised  a  very  powerful  influence  over  the  entire  history  of  the 
country.  The  annual,  or  still  more  frequent,  wars  with  native  tribes  have 
always  had  for  their  main  object  the  gaining  of  more  land  for  hungering 
farmers.  The  treaties  made  with  natives  upon  which  afterwards  gov- 
ernmental authority  was  usually  established  had  to  do  first  of  all  with 
land.  Land  is  the  Boer  gold,  and  perhaps  it  may  be  called  his  god. 

Closely  connected  with  this  must  of  course  be  mentioned  the  family 
life  of  the  Boer.  They  are  famous  for  their  large  families.  One  man 
is  said  to  have  boasted  that  he  had  given  thirty-two  citizens  to  his 
country.  The  families  usually  range  from  six  to  twelve  or  fourteen 
children.  Of  course  as  these  grow  up,  provision  must  be  made  for 
them,  and  the  only  provision  possible  is  either  the  division  of  the 
paternal  estate  or  the  obtaining  of  new  farms.  As  marriages  take 
place  very  early  in  life  the  population  thus  increases  at  an  enormous 
rate  and  the  demand  for  new  farms  makes  a  constant  pressure  upon  the 
borders  of  the  country,  forcing  them  out  over  neighboring  tribal  terri- 
tories. 

As  is  always  the  case  with  people  who  live  far  separated  from  on* 
another,  who  have  to  take  long  journeys  on  various  social  and  busines 
occasions,  hospitality  becomes  a  highly  valued  virtue.     Awav  from  t)' 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  153 

high  roads  this  hospitality  is  open  and  genuine.  Every  white  face  is 
welcome,  and  the  family  arrangements  are  without  hesitation  com- 
pletely upset  that  the  visitors  may  be  warmly  treated.  Beside  the 
high  roads  the  farmers  became  liable  to  visits  from  wandering  travellers 
of  various  descriptions  and  were  often  made  the  victims  of  cruel  jokes 
and  unjust  dealings.  This  tended  to  make  them  suspicious  and  even 
hard  or  greedy  in  their  dealings  with  all  "uitlanders"  who  approached 
them.  Travellers  who  have  come  long  distances  with  wagons  and  oxen 
have  many  needs  to  satisfy  when  they  reach  the  verges  of  civilization, 
and  the  Boer  can  help  them  or  refuse  to  help  them  in  many  little  ways 
which  concern  their  comfort.  Where  such  travellers  are  frequent  it  has 
become  necessary  for  the  farmers  to  make  charges  both  for  attentions 
and  for  provisions  which,  away  from  the  high  roads,  would  be  gladly 
bestowed  without  charge. 

In  a  Boer  household  the  position  of  woman  is  by  no  means  a  high 
one.  She  is  hard  worked,  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  much  travel  or 
intercourse  with  her  fellows;  she  is  uneducated  and  not  expected  to 
show  any  intelligent  interest  in  other  than  domestic  affairs.  Visitors 
to  Pretoria  have  described  the  evident  inferiority  of  the  position  which 
even  Mrs.  Kruger  occupies  in  her  own  household.  The  women  go  out 
little,  it  is  said,  from  the  fear  lest  the  sun  destroy  their  complexion;  the 
result  is  that  they  are  almost  without  exception  very  stout,  as  well  as 
very  large,  and  that  their  faces  have  an  unnaturally  bleached  look. 
Some  travellers  and  observers  have  made  hard  assertions  upon  the 
households  and  personal  habits  of  the  Boers.  It  is  not  easy  to  find 
excuse  for  whole  families  living  in  houses  of  two  or  three  rooms,  for 
the  neglect  of  the  simplest  habits  of  personal  cleanliness,  for  the  gen- 
eral untidiness  and  dilapidation  presented  by  the  majority  of  their 
farm  buildings  and  agricultural  methods.  At  the  same  time  justice 
must  be  done  to  them  from  the  consideration  that  their  life  had,  until 
the  last  few  years,  taken  them  many  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  rail- 
way; that  they  had  no  roads,  and  therefore  little  communication  with 
the  outside  world.  Few  were  the  influences  brought  to  bear  upon  them 
to  rebuke  their  neglect  of  such  matters.  It  was  hard  to  obtain  furni- 
ture or  ornaments,  clothing,  or  other  minor  but  necessary  appurte- 
nances of  a  civilized  life.  Moreover  such  things  could  usually  be  ob- 


154  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

tained  only  for  cash,  and  of  cash  the  Boer  usually  saw  little.  His 
wealth  consisted  in  the  land  which  he  occupied,  in  the  flocks  and  herds, 
the  grain  and  vegetables  and  fruit  which  his  extensive  farm  or  estate 
so  abundantly  yielded.  In  all  these  things  he  might  be  said  to  be  rich 
beyond  the  average  of  such  farmers  anywhere. 

Education  is  by  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  by  no  means  openly 
despised,  but  almost  totally  neglected.  So  far  as  it  is  carried  on  it  is 
mainly  by  itinerate  teachers  who  pass  from  farm  to  farm  or  district  to 
district,  instructing  the  children.  Their  chief  object  is  to  prepare  them 
for  the  examination  in  reading  the  Scriptures  and  reciting  catechism, 
without  which  they  cannot  be  received  into  the  church,  nor  be  allowed 
to  marry.  Thus  the  education  of  the  majority  of  the  Transvaal  Boers 
has  been  gradually  growing  poorer  and  poorer,  and  it  is  said  that  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  adults  can  neither  read  nor  write. 

Next  to  their  commandos  and  land  extension,  the  Boers  are  interested 
in  their  church.  Perhaps  it  is  not  fair  to  say  next,  in  this  manner,  for 
much  of  their  conduct  in  relation  to  land  grabbing  is  stimulated  by  their 
religious  ideas.  It  is,  as  we  shall  see  on  the  authority  of  one  who  knew 
them  well  and  as  is  so  often  described  by  so  many  travellers,  the  literal 
fact  that  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  apply  the  Old  Testament  language 
concerning  Israel  literally  to  themselves,  and  its  language  concerning 
the  Canaanites,  who  were  to  be  destroyed  and  crushed  out,  literally  to 
the  native  tribes.  It  is  hard  to  say  how  much  of  hypocrisy  there  is  in 
this;  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  a  very  large  number  of  instances  it 
is  no  hypocrisy,  but  a  clear  belief  in  which  they  have  been  trained  from 
childhood.  The  great  church  events  of  the  year  are  the  Nachtmaal 
seasons,  when  they  travel  by  ox  wagon  shorter  or  greater  distances  to 
the  nearest  church  for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  the  communion. 

The  language  which  the  Boers  speak  is  hardly  intelligible  to  Dutch- 
men from  Holland.  It  is  practically  a  new  colloquial  tongue  which 
during  nearly  three  centuries  has  developed  on  South  African  soil.  It 
has  become  differentiated  from  Holland  Dutch  alike  in  pronunciation 
and  idioms,  some  of  which  are  drawn  from  native  languages  and  all  of 
which  together  combine  to  render  it  a  very  uncouth  and  imperfect 
medium  of  communication.  It  has  not  even  the  richness  and  smooth- 
ness of  the  colloquial  native  tongues.  In  church  of  course  pure  Dutch 


-• 

'4   " 


I      I 


I  W 


ZULU    WARRIORS 

Zulus  as  a  people  have  learned  to  live  for  war.  Their  Chief  Chaka  was  the  first  to  drill  his  soldiers 
in  a  systematic  way,  and  thus  made  them  practically  invincible.  They  use  either  the  "assegai"  which  is 
a  spear  consisting  of  a  long,  wooden  handle  with  an  armored  lancet-shaped  point  at  one  end,  or  the  "knob- 
keerie."  The  latter  is  the  weapon  held  in  their  right  hands  by  these  men.  In  addition  each  man  carries 
a  shield.  In  actual  battle  the  shield  is  larger  than  those  in  this  picture,  so  large  as  to  hide  a  man  as  he 
crouches  behind  it  on  the  ground.  The  shield  is  made  of  dried  skin  stretched  around  a  frame  of  wood. 


ZULU    WARRIORS,  UNCIVILIZED 

The  first  picture  shows  part  of  a  Zulu  regiment  with  its  strange  bead-gear  and  shields  and  spears, 
crouching  on  the  ground  with  only  their  commander  standing  in  front. 


ZULU    WARRIORS,    CIVILIZED 

The  second  shows  the  same  class  of  men  after  they  have  comg  under  the  training  of  British 
officers.  They  are  armed  with  rifles  and  bayonets,  and  wear  the  light  and  useful  clothing  of  the 
native  volunteers. 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  157 

is  spoken,  and  in  their  Bibles  they  read  it,  but  it  requires  more  frequent 
church  attendance  than  many  of  them  are  able  to  give  to  enable  them 
to  become  proficient  in  the  understanding  of  sermonic  Dutch. 

It  is  an  interesting  and  remarkable  feature  that  one  of  the  favorite 
characteristics  of  the  Boers,  one  which  they  admire  most  in  every  one, 
is  expressed  by  the  word  "slim."  When  a  Boer  farmer  speaks  affection- 
ately and  admiringly  of  General  Joubert  he  nicknames  him  "slim.Piet." 
The  word  means  cunning,  and  is  applied  to  those  who  in  their  business 
and  political  dealings  have  shown  themselves  adepts  at  "taking  in" 
their  rivals  and  competitors.  The  man  who  can  most  effectively  "take 
in"  a  native  chief  or  an  English  trader  who  thinks  himself  smart,  or 
the  English  Government  conscious  of  its  power  and  easily  making 
agreements  with  its  weaker  neighbors,  thereby  displays  to  his  admiring 
neighbors  the  quality  described  by  "slim." 

On  the  whole,  concerning  the  average  Boer  of  the  Transvaal,  the 
judgment  of  travelers  and  close  observers  has  generally  been  that  he  is 
a  man  of  natural  power  whose  circumstances  had  until  the  last  few 
years  been  dragging  him  backwards  into  barbarism,  but  wrho  has  shown 
in  various  ways  his  capacity  to  develop  rapidly  into  an  enlightened 
citizen  of  this  generation. 

The  following  paragraphs,  which  seem  to  have  a  certain  value  as 
coming  from  a  close  student  of  the  facts  and  a  sympathetic  observer 
of  human  nature  in  white  race  or  black,  were  written  by  the  late  John 
Mackenzie.  In  his  "Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange  River,"  which  was 
published  in  1871,he  says: 

"A  few  years  ago,  religious  strife  and  party-spirit  ran  high  in  the 
Transvaal  country;  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  the  opposing  forces 
took  the  field.  They  kept,  however,  at  long  range  from  one  another, 
and  happily  not  much  blood  was  shed.  A  description  of  the  causes 
of  the  combats  would  take  us  back  more  than  two  hundred  years  in  the 
history  of  our  own  country.  The  "Doppers,"  as  they  are  called,  occupy 
the  position  of  dissenters  from  the  Established  Dutch  Church  in  South 
Africa;  although  they  do  not  object  to  receive  aid  from  the  State.  The 
only  difference  between  them  and  their  opponents  which  an  elder  of  the 
Dutch  Church  could  mention  to  me,  was  first  that  (like  the  Carneronians 
in  Scotland)  they  sing  only  the  Psalms  of  David  in  public  worship;  all 


158  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

other  sacred  hymns  being  "carnal."  Then  there  was  a  certain  cloth 
or  covering  used  by  the  Doppers  in  public  worship  and  at  the  Table  of 
the  Lord,  different  from  that  used  in  the  Church.  Beyond  these  two 
points  in  "religion"  my  informant  could  not  go;  although  the  differ- 
ence had  been  the  cause  of  bloodshed.  He  went  on  to  say  that  in  their 
own  dress  the  Doppers,  like  the  Quakers,  do  not  approve  of  the  changes 
of  fashion.  Their  costume  is  usually  a  hat  of  the  very  largest  dimen- 
sions; a  short  jacket,  part  of  the  cloth  for  which  would  seem  to  have 
gone  to  make  the  trousers,  which  are  very  roomy;  a  large  vest,  buttoned 
to  the  chin;  and  the  usual  "veld-schoen."  My  informant  admitted  that 
the  Doppers  we're  very  good  people,  although  he  thought  that  they 
could  be  improved  by  "conforming"  both  as  to  the  singing  of  hymns 
and  the  wearing  of  longer  coats.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  Dutch 
community  is  divided  ecclesiastically  into  Orthodox  and  "Liberaalen," 
or  Rationalists,  as  they  are  called  in  England.  In  Potchefstroom  these 
three  sections  had  separate  congregations — all  consisting  of  Dutch- 
speaking  people.  It  was  perhaps  better  that  they  should  differ  and 
even  fight  about  a  hymn  or  a  vestment  than  remain  in  the  torpid  routine 
of  formalism.  The  existence  of  the  Orthodox,  Liberaalen,  and  Doppers, 
in  the  Transvaal,  and  also  in  the  Cape  Colony,  is  an  evidence  of  increas- 
ing life  and  thought  among  the  people. 

"The  frontier  Dutchman  prefers  the  Old  to  the  New  Testament.  He 
is  at  home  among  the  wars  of  the  Israelites  with  the  doomed  inhabitants 
of  the  Promised  Land.  And  no  one  who  has  freely  and  for  years  min- 
gled with  this  people  can  doubt  that  they  have  persuaded  themselves 
by  some  wonderful  mental  process  that  they  are  God's  chosen  people, 
and  that  the  blacks  are  the  wicked  and  condemned  Canaanites  over 
whose  heads  the  Divine  anger  lowers  continually.  Accordingly,  in 
their  wars  with  the  natives,  the  question  of  religion  is  at  once  brought 
into  continual  and  prominent  mention.  Dutchmen  will  tell  you  that 
in  a  certain  engagement  the  "heathern"  loss  was  so  many,  and  there  were 
so  many  Christians  murdered.  Worship  is  conducted  in  the  laager 
or  camp  by  some  official  of  the  church,  who  probably  exercises  mili- 
tary rule  as  well.  In  their  prayers  the  language  of  the  heroes  of  the 
Old  Testament  is  freely  appropriated;  they  are  God's  people,  and  their 
enemies  are  His  enemies.  And  here  a  geographical  question  presents 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  159 

itself  to  their  minds.     If  they  are  the  chosen  people,  they  must  be  either 
in  or  out  of  the  Promised  Land.     The  latter  is  the  received  opinion: 

"Man  never  is,  but  always  to  be,  blest." 

In  their  journeys  northwards  they  would  seem  to  have  cherished 
the  hope  of  speedily  reaching  the  land  of  Canaan.  A  map  of  the  world 
drawn  by  a  Dutch  colonist  would  be  a  curiosity.  At  a  certain  mission 
station  some  Dutchmen  laughed  to  scorn  the  idea  that  the  earth  was 
round..  Those,  therefore,  whose  cosmos  is  what  they  have  seen  on 
horseback,  or  heard  described  by  "traveled"  neighbors,  are  to  be 
excused  if  their  ideas  of  the  distance  between  South  Africa  and  Pales- 
tine are  peculiar  to  themselves.  I  have  been  often  privately  questioned 
on  this  point  by  some  grave  house-father.  "Was  Canaan  near?" 
"Where  was  Egypt?"  "Could  one  go  there  in  his  wagon?"  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  somewhat  affecting  as  well  as  amusing  to  know  that  the 
farmers  in  some  of  the  most  northerly  districts  inhabited  by  the  Dutch, 
have  names  given  to  them  indicating  the  longing  of  the  farmers  to  reach 
the  land  of  promise  and  of  rest. 

"The  faith  and  the  simplicity  of  the  devout  and  humble  Dutch  colon- 
ist are  changed  into  fanaticism  and  superstition  in  the  case  of  those  who 
have  only  the  "form  of  godliness,"  without  loyally  submitting  them- 
selves to  its  "power."  What  they  want  in  their  own  life  and  character 
they  strive  to  make  up  by  wonderful  "experiences,"  of  which  they  them- 
selves are  the  only  witnesses.  I  have  listened  a  whole  evening,  in  a 
company  of  Dutchmen,  to  the  recital  by  one  and  another  of  anecdotes 
of  Divine  interpositions  and  warnings;  of  people  who  were  told,  as  in 
Old  Testament  times,  that  they  would  get  better  of  some  sickness,  how 
long  they  would  live,  etc. — the  event  always  tallying  with  the  predic- 
tion. It  is  a  fact  that  some  Dutch  hunters  resort  to  the  use  of  dice 
before  going  out  to  the  day's  sport,  a  native  diviner  being  called  upon 
to  declare  by  this  means  in  which  direction  game  is  to  be  found  on  that 
day.  A  Dutchman  in  the  border  districts  will  often  submit  to  the 
charms  and  necromancy  of  a  heathen  priest  and  doctor,  under  the  de- 
lusion— which  the  native  of  course  encourages — that  he  has  been 
bewitched.  Not  long  ago  a  native  doctor  was  deliberately  rewarded  by 
a  Dutchman,  who  had  long  been  without  an  heir,  because  through  the 


160  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

said  doctor's  charms  and  spells  the  farmer's  wife  had  at  length  brought 
forth  a  son.  Ignorance  has  thus  been  gradually  lowering  the  tone  of 
the  people,  especially  in  the  case  of  those  coming  into  contact  with  the 
natives.  The  remark  which  I  have  often  heard  made  by  Englishmen 
who  had  long  resided  among  the  frontier  Dutch  might  no  doubt  have 
been  made  with  equal  justice  for  several  generations — that  the  "young 
Dutchmen  are  seldom  such  fine  men  on  the  whole  as  their  fathers." 
This  of  course  could  not  apply  to  those  who  have  come  under  European 
influence,  but  to  those  who  have  fled  from  it. 

"The  farther  the  Dutch-speaking  population  is  removed  from  centers 
of  civilization,  from  churches  and  from  schools,  the  ruder  are  their  man- 
ners and  the  more  uncouth  the  dialect  which  they  speak.  Their  fellow 
countrymen  to  the  south  affect  great  contempt  for  their  restless 
connections  on  the  frontier,  and  sometimes  call  them  "Vaalpensen," 
which  is  the  Dutch  for  Bakalahari,  the  ill  favored  and  lean  vassals  of 
the  Bechuanas.  I  have  observed  that  many  young  Dutchmen,  sur- 
rounded from  their  youth  by  Bechuana  servants,  introduce  certain 
Bechuana  idioms  into  their  own  language  in  ordinary  conversation. 
For  instance,  the  Bechuanas  have  a  hyperbolical  way  of  speaking  about 
pain  or  sickness,  which  is  ridiculous  wrhen  reproduced  in  Dutch.  If  a 
Bechuana  man  has  a  headache,  the  idiom  of  his  language  requires  him 
to  say,  "I  am  killed  by  my  head;"  if  he  has  a  sore  finger,  "I  am  killed 
by  my  finger."  This  is  now  in  constant  use  in  Dutch  in  certain  districts. 
Again,  when  a  Bechuana  wishes  to  arouse  or  to  hasten  his  servant,  he 
will  say,  although  it  should  be  before  sunrise,  "Make  haste,  the  sun  has 
set."  The  Dutchmen  on  the  frontier  are  learning  to  say  the  same  thing, 
not  only  to  their  servants  but  to  one  another. 

"The  hospitality  of  the  Dutchmen  residing  in  the  remoter  districts 
may  be  said  to  be  wonderful,  and  it  is  a  most  worthy  trait  in  their 
character.  No  person,  black  or  white,  leaves  a  frontier  farm  without 
having  partaken  of  food.  Natives  travelling  through  these  districts 
count  upon  such  entertainment  along  with  the  farm  servants,  and 
Europeans  know  that  they  may  quite  reckon  upon  a  place  at  the  far- 
mer's own  table.  On  much  frequented  roads  this  habit  is  gradually 
changing;  and  a  "bondle-drager,"  a  person  on  foot,  who  carries  his  all 
in  a  bundle,  is  not  very  welcome  at  farm  houses,  and  for  sufficient  rea- 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  161 

sons.  In  the  Transvaal,  when  gold  diggers  in  large  numbers  were 
expected  through  the  country,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the 
high  place  which  hospitality  occupies  in  the  mind  of  the  Dutch  house- 
holder. Not  wishing  to  invite  suspicious  characters  to  his  house,  a 
farmer  whom  I  knew  proposed  to  build  on  his  premises  a  little  "house 
of  entertainment,"  where  he  intended  to  supply  food  and  a  night's  lodg- 
ing to  passing  strangers.  "The  bad  character  of  the  people  must  not 
cause  us  to  fail  in  what  is  our  duty,"  said  this  Dutchman;  and  I  believe 
he  gave  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  many  of  his  neighbors.  But  the 
white-skin  passport  to  the  Dutchman's  table  sometimes  leads  to  amus- 
ing incidents.  For  instance,  a  gentleman  living  in  a  certain  distant 
village  rode  out  one  day 'to  visit  a  Dutch  neighbor.  To  his  surprise, 
when  all  had  assembled  at  dinner,  he  found  his  own  coachman  among 
the  guests.  He  had  obtained  leave  of  absence  that  morning,  and,  not 
knowing  his  master's  intentions,  was  paying  a  visit  here  on  his  own 
account." 

V 

SECTION  IV.  THE  TRANSVAAL  GOVERNMENT  AND  NATIVE  RACES. 

During  the  years  1864-1876  the  history  of  the  Transvaal  Kepublic 
is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  wars  carried  on  by  the  Burghers  against 
strong  native  tribes  in  the  northeast,  east  and  southeast.  The  student 
of  their  character  and  social  organization  will  also  be  much  concerned 
during  this  period  with  the  question  of  their  treatment  of  natives 
within  their  own  territory.  According  to  the  fourth  article  of  the  Sand 
River  Convention  (1852)  they  were  bound  to  have  no  slavery,  but  in 
the  "Grondwet"  or  Fundamental  Constitution  of  the  Republic,  drafted 
in  1855  and  adopted  in  1858,  which  is  the  basis  of  the  South  African 
Republic  to-day,  it  is  determined  that  "the  people  (the  Boers)  will 
suffer  no  equality  of  whites  and  blacks,  either  in  State  or  in  Church." 
The  black  man  possesses  practically  no  status  in  the  eyes  of  the  law, 
except  in  relation  to  such  laws  as  limit  his  freedom  of  movement  and 
his  possession  of  property.  The  policy  of  the  Transvaal  was,  in  a  few 
districts  where  they  found  tribes  existing,  to  allow  tribal  law  to 
continue,  and  it  has  sometimes  been  represented  as  the  policy  through- 
out the  country;  but  the  same  class  of  writers  also  urge  in  another 
breath  and  for  another  purpose  that  the  larger  part  of  the  central 


162  THE    TRAXSl'AAL    REPUBLIC. 

Transvaal  had  been  denuded  of  population  by  the  terrific  raids  of 
Moselekatse  and  his  blood-thirsty  Zulu  regiments.  When  the  Boers 
settled  in  these  unoccupied  territories,  the  problem  pressed  upon  them 
how  they  were  to  obtain  native  labor.  Natives  did  not  and  would  not 
flock  to  service  under  them  as  they  have  flocked  to  the  diamond  mines 
or  the  gold  mines  under  the  British  Government,  nor  volunteer  to  serve 
the  farmers  in  the  Transvaal  as  they  have  willingly  done  in  many  parts 
of  Cape  Colony.  The  Boers,  on  the  other  hand,  had  already  received 
into  their  souls  the  poison  which  white  people  so  often  have  contracted 
where  they  are  in  the  presence  of  such  races;  namely,  that  of  a  contempt 
for  manual  labor.  Servants,  therefore,  had  to  be  found,  and  one  of 
the  interesting  questions  vital  to  the  understanding  of  the  economical 
history  of  the  Transvaal  during  these  twelve  years  bears  upon  this 
question.  How  did  they  find  this  labor?  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  during  these  early  years  the  Boers  were  much  less  scrupulous 
about  the  way  in  which  they  treated  the  native  tribes  than  they  have 
become  in  recent  years  under  the  severe  criticism  of  outlander  wrhites 
and  of  their  own  higher-minded  fellow  Dutchmen  in  the  south. 

The  people  who  gave  the  blacks  no  equality  in  State  or  in  Church 
could  not,  if  their  principles  were  to  be  carried  out,  allow  natives  to 
own  land,  even  when  they  had  made  enough  money  to  purchase  it. 
Hence  it  became  the  custom  for  blacks  here  and  there  who  desired  to 
own  land  to  purchase  it  through,  and  have  it  registered  in  the  name  of, 
some  missionary  or  other  white  man,  in  whose  honesty  they  trusted. 
This  was  all  that  the  black  man  could  possibly  attain.  Further,  no 
native  was  allowed  to  move  about  from  place  to  place  without  a  pass, 
which,  needless  to  say,  could  not  be  obtained  without  some  little  diffi- 
culty. The  operation  of  these  two  laws  resulted  in  this,  that  the  native 
adults  in  the  Transvaal  were  wholty  dependent  for  their  work,  rate  of 
wages  and  opportunities  for  purchase,  upon  the  Boer  farmers  on  whose 
land  they  happened  to  live.  Moreover,  every  farmer  had  the  right  to 
impose  hut-taxes  upon  all  natives  living  on  his  lands. 

Needless  to  say,  little  or  nothing  was  done  by  the  Boers  for  the  edu- 
cation or  the  religious  improvement  of  the  natives  within  their  own 
country.  They  provided  themselves  with  churches,  and  maintained  a 
zealous  form  of  religion,  but  they  frankly  and  openly  avowed  that  this 


THE    TRANSVAAL   REPUBLIC.  163 

religion  was  not  intended  for  the  blacks.  It  was  not  for  many  years 
that  the  ministers  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  many  of  whom  have 
always  been  earnest  and  sincere  Christian  men,  succeeded  in  persuad- 
ing their  church  to  promote  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  amongst  their  own 
subject  peoples.  In  fact,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  statements,  made 
so  late  as  the  year  of  the  London  Convention,  1883-4,  referred  to  this 
very  matter,  and  part  of  it  may  be  quoted  here  as  characteristic  of  their 
spirit  and  indicative  of  the  progress  they  had  hitherto  made.  In  the 
manifesto  which  they  issued,  addressed  to  the  English-speaking  people, 
they  dealt  with  the  accusations  made  against  them  regarding  the 
treatment  of  the  natives.  They  refer  to  the  horrible  misdeeds  com- 
mitted by  the  Dutch  in  the  Indian  Archipelago  and  the  English  in 
India,  and  even  in  the  present  century  by  the  Southern  planters  in  the 
United  States. 

They  confess  that  their  own  people  may  have  been  guilty  in  earlier 
years  of  the  Republic's  history,  "on  that  account  we  humbly  pray  to 
the  Lord,  our  God,  to  forgive  us  the  sins  that  may  have  been  committed 
in  hidden  corners."  "If  you  leave  us  untrammeled,  we  dare  hope  to  God 
that  ere  a  new  generation  has  passed  by  a  considerable  portion  of  our 
natives  in  the  Transvaal  will  be  converted  to  Christianity — at  least,  our 
Government  is  preparing  arrangements  for  a  more  thorough  Christian 
mission  among  them." 

In  spite  of  the  strenuous  denials  that  have  been  made  on  certain 
occasions  regarding  the  Boer  treatment  of  the  natives,  the  evidence  is 
too  abundant  and  too  varied  in  its  origin  to  allow  of  any  doubt  on  two 
points,  first,  that  the  supply  of  native  labor  was  maintained  by  the 
importation  of  captives,  mostly  women  and  young  children  taken  in 
their  raids  upon  native  tribes  beyond  the  borders,  and  secondly,  that 
there  was  established  within  the  Transvaal  during  the  first  twelve 
years  of  its  existence,  a  system  which  in  its  main  principles  and 
actual  working  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from  slavery.  For  many 
years  it  was  cloaked  by  what  was  called  native  apprenticeship,  a 
method  whereby  the  children  brought  from  native  tribes,  whose  parents 
had  been  slain  and  who  were  therefore  brought  as  orphans  into  the 
country,  were  bound  as  apprentices  to  the  farmers.  This  apprentice- 
ship lasted  until  they  were  21  or  22  years  of  age,  after  which  they  came 


164  THE    TRAXSl'AAL   REPUBLIC. 

under  the  operation  of  the  laws  described  above,  whereby  their  life  was 
still  restricted  to  the  farms  on  which  they  had  been  brought  up,  and 
some  of  the  poor  creatures  took  far  longer  than  the  rest  of  mankind 
to  reach  their  twenty-first  birthday. 

Xo  one  who  knows  anything  of  the  life  in  South  Africa  would  criti- 
cise the  Boers  for  having  instituted  a  law  against  vagrancy  and  a  sys- 
tem of  passes.  Where  natives  are  held  together  by  tribal  law,  lan- 
guage and  custom,  they  are  not  likely  in  large  numbers  to  wander  over 
the  country;  but  as  soon  as  the  cohesiveness  of  the  tribe  gives  way, 
consider  the  terrible  social  position  in  which  the  natives  find  them- 
selves! They  have  no  valuable  property  or  steady  industry  holding 
them  to  one  place  of  abode;  they  can  make  their  stay  here  for  one 
month  and  fifty  miles  away  for  another  month;  they  can  travel  from 
place  to  place,  making  their  homes  anywhere  and  their  living  anyhow. 
Where  natives  in  this  condition  amount  to  many  thousands  it  is  obvious 
that  the  dangers  of  murder  and  rapine  are  enormously  increased  and 
strict  laws  and  supervision  are  needed,  no  less  for  the  safety  and  com- 
fort of  the  general  community  than  for  the  social  education  and  moral 
development  of  the  natives  themselves.  To  secure  this  a  system  of 
native  locations  and  the  employment  of  passes  have  become  absolutely 
essential.  The  injustice  to  the  native  comes  in,  when  he  is  refused  the 
ordinary  rights  of  property  within  the  district  which  he  inhabits,  and 
when  besides  that,  as  between  him  and  the  white  man,  the  law  asserts 
that  the  one  can  have  no  equality  with  the  other  "in  Church  or  State." 

Few  people  would  be  found  to  deny,  at  least  in  Great  Britain  or 
America,  that  black  men  ought  to  have  full  rights  of  property  in  the 
country  which  they  inhabit,  and  that  to  deny  them  these  rights  is  to 
make  them  dependent  upon  the  white  owners  of  the  soil  in  a  manner 
which  must  tend  continually  toward  slavery.  Further,  few  people 
would  deny  that  a  dominant  people  which  collects  taxes  from  black 
subject  peoples,  ought  to  give  them  some  direct  return  for  this  taxation 
in  the  form  of  education  and  governmental  measures  making  for  their 
social  development. 

It  is  of  course  very  likely  that  some  accusers  of  the  Boers  in  the 
matter  of  slavery  have  exaggerated  its  extent  and  made  its  conditions 
appear  darker  than  they  actually  were.  It  is  certain  also  that  there 


THE    TRANSVAAL    REPUBLIC.  165 

has  always  been  in  the  Transvaal  a  section  of  white  farmers  who  dis- 
approved of  slavery,  and  who  disliked  the  methods  employed  by  their 
fellow-citizens  of  dealing  with  native  tribes.  We  must  also  be  careful 
not  to  accuse  the  Boers  of  slavery  in  regard  to  those  tribes  to  whom 
they  assigned  locations,  and  whom  they  left  for  the  most  part  under  the 
operation  of  their  tribal  laws  and  customs.  It  must  also  be  admitted 
that  some  of  the  worst  deeds  attributed  to  the  Boers,  some  of  the  most 
ruthless  murders  of  black  peoples,  were  committed  not  by  the  high- 
toned  farmers  living  near  the  centers  of  population,  but  by  the  wilder 
spirits  who  pressed  ever  towards  the  borders.  It  was  they  who  proved 
themselves  over  and  over  again  ruthless  towards  native  tribes;  it  was 
they  who  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion,  the  Boer  principle  that  they 
were  a  chosen  people,  and  that  the  native  tribes  were  to  them  as  the 
Canaanites  to  Israel,  people  deprived  of  their  rights  by  the  will  of  God, 
and  destined  by  the  same  Power  to  become  servants  to  their  conquerors. 
When  all  these  allowances  are  honestly  and  fully  made,  there  still 
remains,  it  must  be  sorrowfully  insisted,  a  large  amount  of  testimony  to 
the  fact  that  the  Transvaal  Boers  did  for  the  first  quarter  of  a  century 
of  their  existence  as  a  people,  treat  the  natives  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses as  their  serfs,  that  they  denied  to  them  the  benefits  of  civilization 
and  deprived  them  in  very  large  numbers  of  blessings  which  they  had 
enjoyed  under  native  laws  and  native  freedom.  It  must  also  be  asserted 
as  proved  and  sure,  that  in  order  to  find  servants  for  the  districts  which 
had  been  denuded  of  population  before  the  Boers  arrived,  a  system  of 
importing  orphans  was  brought  into  operation  which  remains  a  blot 
upon  the  history  of  the  Transvaal  during  those  years.  It  was  a  British 
Colonial  statesman  who  pointedly  asked  how  it  was  that  the  Transvaal 
found  so  many  "orphans  that  it  needed  special  Legislature  by  their 
supreme  Government  to  regulate  their  welfare."  The  answer  must  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  Boer  commanders,  for  some  reason  or  other, 
found  it  constantly  necessary  to  attack  native  tribes,  and  that  they 
would  carry  off  the  children  of  these  tribes  and  distribute  them  among 
the  farmers  of  the  Transvaal,  indenturing  them  under  the  laws  of 
apprenticeship  then  in  operation.  When  they  reached  their  majority 
and  became  free,  these  orphans  found  themselves  in  a  position  of  abso- 
lute dependence  upon  the  farmers  on  whose  lands  they  had  been  brought 


166  THE    TRANSVAAL   REPUBLIC, 

up;  their  own  tribe  was  either  far  distant  or  obliterated  from  existence, 
and  their  entire  life  cut  off  from  any  connection  with  their  race. 

In  1881,  Mr.  Herbert,  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Commission  through 
which  independence  was  restored  to  the  Transvaal,  said:  "I  do  not 
think  it  can  be  denied  that  the  actual  buying  and  selling  of  bodies 
has  almost  ceased,  though  it  did  exist.  But  there  is  a  form  of  servitude 
more  dreadful,  because  it  is  more  universal  and  less  easily  detected; 
and  that  is  the  authority  exercised  by  the  Boer  farmers  over  the  natives 
of  the  kraals  on  their  farms.  There  are  the  natives.  They  have 
nowhere  to  go  to  escape  this  form  of  slavery.  They  are  at  the  beck 
and  call  of  every  Boer.  The  Boer  takes  their  cattle  and  their  children, 
and  there  is  no  redress." 

In  the  year  1865  a  formal  report  was  made  to  the  High  Commis- 
sioner by  Mr.  W.  Martin  of  Pietermaritzburg,  who  had  paid  visits  on 
two  different  occasions  to  the  Transvaal,  and  who  did  not  hesitate  to 
describe  the  system  then  obtaining  as  slavery.  He  speaks  of  its  exist- 
ence as  "a  notorious  fact  to  all  persons  acquainted  with  the  Transvaal 
Republic,"  and  even  asserts  that  the  destitute  children  were  bought  and 
sold  as  "black  ivory."  In  the  year  1866  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony 
addressed  a  letter  to  President  Pretorius,  in  which  he  refers  to  the 
^popular  sale"  at  Potchefstroom  and  its  vicinity  of  native  children. 
This  protest  was  based  upon  a  report  made  by  a  Boer,  a  Mr.  Steyn, 
who  himself  had  been  Landdrost  of  Potchefstroom.  He  stated  that 
"every  year  we,  the  Boers,  were  at  war  with  small  native  tribes  at 
Zoutpansberg,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Transvaal."  After  one  of 
these  wars  Mr.  Steyn  asserted  that  thirty-one  Kaffir  children  between 
the  ages  of  3  and  12  were  publicly  disposed  of  at  prices  varying  from 
£15  to  £22,  10s.  In  some  instances  the  price  was  paid  in  cattle. 
In  1867  again,  in  one  of  these  raids  in  the  north,  120  children  were 
obtained  from  one  tribe.  These  orphans  were  distributed  among  the 
burghers.  The  Commandant  General  was  at  this  time  Mr.  Kruger  (now 
President  Kruger),  who,  of  course,  may  not  have  known  directly  and 
officially  of  these  proceedings,  or  may  have  found  it  necessary  to  take 
charge  of  these  children  when  they  had  no  parents  left  to  them;  but  it 
is  easy  enough  to  see  how  proceedings  like  these  necessarily  led  to 
stories,  which  on  the  one  hand  awakened  resentment  amongst  the  better 


THE    TRANSVAAL   REPUBLIC.  167 

class  of  South  African  Europeans  of  every  race,  and  on  the  other  hand 
created  hatred  and  fear  of  the  Boer  Government  throughout  the  native 
territories  of  the  whole  region. 

The  High  Commissioner  added  in  that  letter,  "I  cannot  close  this 
communication  without  inviting  your  most  serious  and  immediate  atten- 
tion to  those  provisions  of  the  laws  of  the  South  African  Republic 
under  which,  as  I  am  informed,  native  children  and  youths,  called 
orphans,  or  perhaps  made  so  by  the  murder  of  their  parents,  can  be 
registered  as  apprentices  for  a  term  of  21  years,  and  can,  during  that 
term,  be  sold  from  hand  to  hand  as  a  marketable  commodity.  I  must 
plainly  state  that  such  arrangements,  no  matter  under  what  name  they 
may  be  disguised,  can  only  be  regarded  as  sanctioning  practical  slavery, 
and  as  being  therefore  the  greatest  violation  of  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant stipulations  of  the  convention  between  the  Government  and  that  of 
her  Majesty."  He  proceeds  to  demand  a  repeal  of  these  laws  and  the 
effective  stoppage  of  "any  further  traffic  in  human  beings."  In  1868 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Natal  describes  the  system  in  the  same  way 
and  the  evils  to  which  it  necessarily  gave  rise.  At  last,  in  August, 
1876,  one  of  the  noblest  natives  in  South  Africa,  Khama,  chief  of  the 
Bamangwato,  addressed  a  letter  directly  to  the  Queen  of  England, 
through  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony,  in  which  he  complained  against 
the  practice  of  the  Boers  in  carrying  off  the  children  of  native  tribes 
and  causing  them  to  be  sold.  He  pleads  with  the  Queen  to  protect  his 
country  from  the  Boers.  He  says,  "I  do  not  like  them.  Their  actions 
are  cruel  among  us  black  people.  We  are  like  money;  they  sell  us  and 
our  children.  *  *  *  Last  year  I  saw  them  pass  with  two  wagons 
full  of  people,  whom  they  had  bought  at  Lake  Ngami." 

In  view  of  all  these  facts  it  must  be  concluded  that  the  Boers'  treat- 
ment of  the  natives  has  been  such  as  to  deprive  them  of  the  sympathy  of 
all  who  believe  in  equal  laws  and  strict  justice  for  all  men,  both  black 
and  white.  The  native  problem  in  South  Africa  is  an  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult and  perplexing  one,  even  for  those  rulers  who  would  act  most  fairly 
and  most  generously  towards  them,  but  the  difficulty  is  enormously  in- 
creased when  their  spirit  has  been  embittered  by  undeniable  oppression. 
It  is  not  asserted  that  the  natives  in  any  of  the  British  colonies  are 
treated  by  all  classes  of  white  people  with  due  consideration;  no  one 


168  THE    TRAXSl'AAL   REPUBLIC. 

who  has  not  lived  where  superior  races  mingle  with  inferior  ones,  can 
conceive  of  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  right  relations  between  them. 
There  will  always  be  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  large  numbers  in  the 
vast  rnajority  of  superior  races  to  treat  the  members  of  inferior  races 
with  unconcealed  contempt.  The  result  will  be  a  setting  up  of  customs 
in  their  daily  conduct  and  relations  towards  one  another  which  are  to 
be  deplored.  No  one  would  consider  it  therefore  a  matter  of  peculiar 
accusation  against  the  Boers  that  they  have,  either  as  individuals  or 
even  as  a  community,  formed  habits  of  thought  and  conduct  towards 
these  races  which  are  open  to  criticism.  The  matter  assumes  an  entirely 
different  complexion  when  it  is  not  the  silent  pressure  of  social  preju- 
dices and  private  qualities  that  have  led  to  injustice,  but  when  it  is 
the  very  constitution  and  statutes  of  the  land  which  draw  a  line  of  dis- 
tinction between  the  black  and  white,  and  which  forbid  the  black 
to  have  any  equal  claims  with  the  white,  before  the  laws  of  property, 
education  and  religious  freedom.  It  is  of  the  latter  crime  against  the 
very  name  of  a  Kepublic  that  the  Boers  have  proved  themselves  guilty. 
In  large  parts  of  India  the  natives  are  governed  by  white  people 
and  possess  no  vote,  and  in  those  parts  the  natives  are  liable  to  the 
social  and  private  ill-treatment  of  the  official  European  classes;  but 
throughout  India  every  native  has  rights  before  the  law.  He  can  own 
land,  he  can  bring  evidence  in  the  courts  of  law  against  any  man,  white 
or  black,  who  does  him  wrong;  he  can  and  does  even  recover  damages 
against  the  Government  when  the  latter  is  responsible  for  any  loss  in- 
curred by  him ;  he  has  offered  to  him  opportunities  of  education,  even  in 
government  schools  and  colleges,  that  may  carry  him  from  the  elements 
up  to  the  ripest  and  widest  scholarship.  In  Cape  Colony  the  colored  peo- 
ple suffer  from  social  ostracism  and  have,  no  doubt,  legitimate  com- 
plaints to  make  against  the  treatment  which  they  receive  from  the  white 
minority  inhabiting  the  land;  but  there  the  black  man  enjoys  the  fran- 
chise and  can  vote  on  exactly  the  same  terms  as  the  white  man;  he  can 
own  land  and  become  rich,  he  can  have  education  and  religious  privileges 
as  really  as  the  white,  he  can  even  serve  on  a  jury  where  a  white  man  is 
accused  of  crime.  In  Natal,  where  the  proportion  of  white  men  is 
smaller  even  than  in  the  Transvaal,  social  and  customary  oppression  is 
probably  greater  than  in  the  Cape  Colony,  and  the  pass  system  must,  as 


THE    TRANSVAAL   REPUBLIC.  169 

we  have  seen,  necessarily  be  enforced;  but  even  there  the  law  does  not 
discriminate  as  it  does  in  the  Transvaal,  making  the  black  man  practi- 
cally the  serf  of  the  white.  In  all  our  discussions  therefore  of  the 
merits  of  the  Boer  Government  and  the  claims  of  the  Boers  to  independ- 
ence and  self-government,  we  need  to  weigh  their  claims  not  only  in  the 
light  of  the  complaints  which  a  hundred  thousand  outlanders  have 
made  against  their  rnisgovernment,  but  also  in  the  light  of  the  national, 
deliberate,  constitutional  bad  treatment  of  700,000  natives  during  half 
a  century  of  history. 

The  complaints  against  the  systematic  cruelty  of  the  Boers  to  the 
natives  have  been  accumulating  steadily  for  fifty  years  or  more.  The 
Boers  accuse  the  European  missionaries  of  having  fomented  this  preju- 
dice against  them,  and  they  have  good  reason.  The  Boers  and  the 
missionaries  have  been  opposed  to  one  another  during  all  that  time. 
Those  who  know,  and  the  best  men  of  science  and  students  of  ethnology 
know,  that  the  missionaries  all  over  the  world  have  been  remarkable 
for  their  fair  and  trustworthy  evidence  on  all  matters  coming  under 
their  observation,  will  not  believe  that  the  severe  criticisms  which  they 
have  offered  for  three  generations  upon  the  Boer  treatment  of  native 
races,  has  been  all  that  time  unfounded  in  fact  or  based  on  inconsider- 
able and  scattered  instances  of  cruelty. 

SECTION  V.  THE  ANNEXATION  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL. 

The  course  of  events  in  the  Transvaal  which  we  have  described  in 
the  preceding  section  could  not  be  unobserved  by  the  Governors 
of  Natal  and  Cape  Colony,  as  well  as  by  the  Colonial  Office  in 
London.  The  Colonial  Secretary  at  that  time  was  the  Earl  of  Car- 
narvon, who  had  formed  the  ambition  of  signalizing  his  tenure  of  office 
by  a  great  achievement  in  South  Africa.  He  had  for  two  years  pre- 
viously been  steadily  laboring  "towards  one  object  and  one  end," 
namely,  "The  union  of  the  South  African  colonies  and  states."  He 
was  at  this  time  considering  the  details  of  a  bill  which  was  to  be  pro- 
posed in  the  next  session  of  Parliament  opening  the  way  for  the  con- 
federation of  these  South  African  colonies  and  states  into  a  United 
States  of  South  Africa,  or  one  large  and  powerful  Dominion.  In  pre- 
paring for  this  great  consummation  Lord  Carnarvon  kept  a  very  careful 


170  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

watch  over  the  course  of  events  in  the  Transvaal,  as  also  throughout 
the  rest  of  South  Africa.  He  had  not  been  unaware  of  the  terrible  dan- 
ger overhanging  the  Colony  of  Natal  in  two  directions,  from  the 
aggrandizement  of  native  tribes.  He  had  been  keenly  sensitive  to  the 
increase  of  this  danger  through  the  failure  of  the  Boer  wars  with  their 
native  enemies.  It  seemed  to  him,  therefore,  that  the  time  had  come 
for  taking  some  definite  steps  which  should  have  the  double  effect  of 
arresting  native  ambitions  and  bringing  the  European  colonies  and 
states  into  some  form  of  actual  union  with  one  another. 

In  order  to  further  his  project  Lord  Carnarvon  took  two  important 
steps.  First  he  selected  a  man  as  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa 
and  Governor  of  Cape  Colony,  whose  past  magnificent  career  had  given 
him  wide  and  rich  experience  in  dealing  both  with  colonists  and  de- 
pendent native  races.  This  man  was  the  noble-hearted  and  high-souled 
Sir  Bartle  Frere.  Only  two  or  three  of  the  long  list  of  Governors  sent 
to  South  Africa  have  resembled  this  man  in  breadth  of  mind,  firmness 
of  grasp  and  loftiness  of  character.  It  was  his  fate  to  be  sent  out  to  un- 
dertake an  impossible  task,  to  face  complicated  problems  created  by  the 
negligencies  of  his  predecessors  and  the  short-sightedness  of  colonial 
officers;  it  wras  his  fate  to  have  the  name  of  High  Commissioner  of  South 
Africa  without  the  real  authority  and  power,  and  to  be  considered  by 
the  unobservant  and  harsh  judging  world  as  responsible  for  calamities 
which  wTould  almost  certainly  have  been  one  and  all  avoided,  if  the 
power  placed  in  his  hands  had  corresponded  with  the  title  of  his  office. 
Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  the  victim  of  a  series  of  Imperial  blunders  which 
politicians  in  Great  Britain  were  clever  enough  or  ignorant  enough  to 
heap  upon  his  name,  bringing  his  brilliant  career  to  a  saddened  close. 

Secondly,  when  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  approached  with  a  view  to 
his  appointment  as  High  Commissioner  in  South  Africa,  Lord  Carnar- 
von had  already  begun  to  act  in  relation  to  the  Transvaal.  As  he  said, 
Great  Britain  had  been  on  the  edge  for  some  time  of  a  great  native 
war,  and  the  difficulties  of  the  Transvaal  Government  were  bringing 
native  troubles  nearer  and  making  them  more  dreadful.  He  accord- 
ingly sent,  towards  the  end  of  1876,  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  of  Natal, 
as  a  Special  Commissioner  to  the  Transvaal.  Shepstone  was  ordered  to 
act  with  discretion,  but  he  had  authority  to  act  as  his  investigation  of  the 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  171 

circumstances  should  determine.  If  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the 
Transvaal  made  its  annexation  to  Great  Britain  desirable  and  possible, 
he  was  authorized  to  arrange  with  the  Transvaal  Government  for  car- 
rying through  the  momentous  change. 

Shepstone  arrived  on  December  20,  1876,  and  was  received  every- 
where with  great  kindness,  and,  by  large  numbers  of  the  Transvaal 
people,  even  with  enthusiasm.  His  coming  was  a  proof  to  them  that 
Great  Britain  was  taking  an  active  interest  in  their  affairs,  and  that 
the  unspeakably  miserable  experience  of  the  last  few  years  would  be 
brought  to  an  end. 

Mr.  Rider  Haggard  has  proved,  both  from  his  actions  and  his  words, 
that  Shepstone  did  not  enter  the  Transvaal  with  the  fixed  purpose  of 
formally  annexing  the  land.  He  kept  clear  before  him  the  fact  that  he 
was  there  to  investigate,  and  that  annexation  was  only  one  of  several 
alternatives  which  he  was  allowed  to  entertain.  One  of  his  earliest 
acts  was  to  offer  a  Confederation  Bill  to  the  Volksraad,  hoping  that  if 
they  approved  the  idea  of  being  brought  into  a  living  union  with  the 
other  South  African  colonies  and  states,  this  would  open  up  negotia- 
tions by  which  the  affairs  of  the  Republic  might  be  put  upon  a  sound 
footing.  Even  President  Burgers,  in  the  defence  of  his  own  adminis- 
tration which  he  left  for  publication  after  his  death,  bore  witness  that 
Shepstone,  while  he  avowed  his  purpose  to  annex  the  Transvaal,  also 
frankly  gave  the  Boers  time  to  call  together  the  Volksraad  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  measures  by  which  Burgers  felt  sure  that  the  coun- 
try could  be  delivered  from  its  distresses  and  its  dangers.  Burgers 
tells  us  that  Shepstone  promised  that  he  would  "abandon  his  design 
if  the  Volksraad  would  adopt  these  measures,  and  the  country  be  will- 
ing to  submit  to  them,  and  to  carry  them  out." 

Shepstone  lived  in  the  Transvaal  from  December  20th  till  April 
12th  before  he  took  action.  Throughout  that  time  he  conducted  him- 
self with  the  greatest  tact,  firmness  and  wisdom.  He  was  accessible  to 
everyone,  and  large  numbers  of  Boers  freely  interviewed  him  both  in 
private  and  in  public.  He  concealed  nothing,  plotted  nothing,  openly 
told  them  that  he  was  there  to  investigate  the  troubles  in  which  they 
were  placed,  and  to  find  a  way  out  of  them.  The  idea  of  annexation 
was  discussed  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  was  being 


172  THE  TRAXSrAAL  REPUBLIC. 

welcomed  by  some  thousands  of  white  persons,  including  many  of  the 
most  influential  Boers,  while  it  was  of  course  being  deprecated  and 
bitterly  opposed  by  the  majority  of  the  Boer  people.  With  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Government  and  President  Burgers  throughout  these  long 
months  Shepstone  discussed  every  aspect  of  the  situation.  He  urged 
them  to  put  things  right,  or  to  show  that  they  could  be  put  right,  or 
even  to  prove  that  the  people  were  willing  to  back  up  the  Government 
in  any  advances  which  they  might  propose.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  state  was  bankrupt,  that  the  administration 
and  legislation,  as  well  as  the  taxation,  were  all  in  collapse,  and  that 
the  danger  of  devastating  invasions  of  native  tribes  was  very  real  and 
very  dreadful. 

President  Burgers  was  meanwhile  carrying  on  his  own  agitation, 
striving  to  arouse  enthusiasm  among  the  citizens  and  looking  forward 
to  the  contest  now  impending  for  the  presidentship.  Mr.  Kruger  was 
on  the  other  hand  busily  canvassing  for  his  own  election  and  stirring  up 
the  people  in  his  own  way  to  resist  all  suggestions  of  annexation. 
Neither  of  them  succeeded  in  rousing  the  people  to  take  definite  steps 
in  one  direction  or  another.  Disheartened  and  humbled  the  farmers 
only  gathered  in  excited  groups  here  and  there  and  talked  their  patriot- 
ism, condemned  their  opponents  within  the  Transvaal  and  without  it, 
and  went  home  without  any  clear  idea  of  progress  in  any  direction, 
without  any  action  leading  anywhere. 

On  April  10th  news  came  to  Pretoria  that  Cetywayo  had  gathered 
his  forces  in  three  powerful  columns  on  the  borders  of  Zululand  with  a 
view  to  the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal.  About  forty  square  miles  had 
been  already  previously  overrun  and  every  house  burned.  Shepstone 
at  once  sent  off  a  messenger  to  Cetywayo  with  the  news  tjiat  the  Queen 
was  now  taking  over  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal,  and  that  he  must 
not  fight  against  the  Boers.  At  once  Cetywayo  gave  way,  disappointed 
but  obedient.  "You  see  my  impis  (regiments),"  he  said  to  the  messen- 
ger, "are  gathered.  It  is  to  fight  the  Dutch  I  called  them  together.  Now 
I  will  send  them  back  to  their  homes." 

This  warning  was  so  significant  and  stern  that  Shepstone  resolved 
to  delay  action  no  further  and  Burgers  gave  way.  A  very  curious 
series  of  negotiations  took  place  between  Burgers  aad  Shepstone.  Tho 


en 
u 


a 

OS 

a 
CQ 
S 


o*  c3  ^5 


a  .a  a> 


C  »3 

1)  a  O 


O     ijj 
§       £§ 

S    1* 

^          30) 

o-o 

*•          «(-» 


O  ^^00 

tL  5      "^    ^H 

a    la| 

^fc  *    CtJ   ? 

QE    — 1  g 

O          >  >  a, 

S'1'* 

QJ         MtS 

a  o 
*C       o  «** 

S     —  u  ° 
H     -g.3 

a   2 

O      2§> 


HgS 
•83 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  175 

former  in  secret  acquiesced  in  the  annexation;  he  even  read  the  procla- 
mation of  annexation  before  it  was  made  and  proposed  the  alteration 
of  only  two  words.  He  did  propose  the  addition  of  some  matter  which 
Shepstone  accepted  and  inserted.  Burgers,  on  the  other  hand,  explained 
that  it  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  issue  a  protest  "to  keep  the  noisy 
portioii  of  the  people  quiet."  As  a  matter  of  fact  he  acknowledged  that 
the  annexation  wras  necessary,  and  most  of  the  members  of  his  Govern- 
ment had  already  told  Shepstone  that  they  sawr  no  other  wTay  out  of  the 
difficulty..  Burgers  actually  read  the  draft  of  his  protest  to  Shepstone 
and  asked  for  his  opinion  upon  it!  When  Shepstone  complained  that  it 
appeared  to  pledge  the  people  to  resist  by  and  by,  Burgers  said  it  was 
intended  only  to  tide  over  the  difficulty  of  the  moment,  saying  that  no 
British  .troops  were  in  the  country  within  a  fortnight's  march,  and  that 
by  the  time  any  action  upon  the  protest  was  reported  from  London,  the 
opposition  would  have  lost  heart  and  retired. 

In  his  proclamation  Shepstone  took  high  ground.  He  did  not  pro- 
fess that  the  majority  of  the  Boers  desired  this  event,  but  he  grounded 
the  reasons  for  it  upon  the  collapse  of  the  Government  and  the  condition 
of  the  country  both  from  a  commercial  and  a  political  point  of  view. 
He  promised  of  course  that  the  country  would  be  governed  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  people,  that  their  liberties  would  be  observed  and  that  con- 
stitutional government  would  as  speedily  as  possible  be  established. 
Throughout  South  Africa  this  daring  act  was  received  with  utter 
astonishment  and  much  disquietude.  But  when  people  heard  that  no 
rebellion  had  taken  place,  that  the  Boers  had  gone  back  to  their  farms, 
that  British  troops  had  entered  unmolested,  delight  spread  from  region 
to  region.  In  the  Transvaal  relief  came  at  once.  Land  values  which 
stood  at  nothing  before  the  act  of  Annexation,  sprang  up;  business 
increased;  an  air  of  confidence  reigned  everywhere;  people  felt  that 
stable  conditions  had  now  been  created  and  they  put  capital  into 
buildings  and  business;  the  native  tribes  were  given  to  understand  that 
now  they  must  reckon,  not  with  the  disheartened  Boer  commandos,  but 
with  the  organized  and  irresistible  might  of  England. 

At  Cape  Towrn  the  most  surprised  man  probably  was  Sir  Bartle 
Frere,  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  The  Transvaal  had 
been  placed  beyond  Frere's  authority,  and  this  initial  blunder  is  largely 


176  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

accountable  for  the  subsequent  mismanagement  and  disasters.  Even 
Lord  Carnarvon  was  astounded  and  for  a  time  afraid,  but  he  loyally 
supported  the  decision  of  the  man  to  whom  he  had  given  a  free  hand. 
England  at  this  time  was,  unfortunately  for  South  Africa,  absorbed  in 
excitement  over  the  Eastern  question.  The  "sick  man,"  the  Sultan  of 
Turkey,  was  in  the  thought  of  every  European  politician.  Before  the 
tremendous  issues  of  that  controversy,  the  question  of  annexing 
another  slice  of  Africa  with  50,000  white  people  was  a  small  affair. 
Politicians  paid  it  little  attention.  Government  officials  treated  it  as 
a  mere  incident.  Thus  the  prolonged  and  irritating  neglect  of  the 
pressing  problems  of  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  was  made  possi- 
ble, a  neglect  which  in  itself  is  absolutely  indefensible  and  which  beyond 
all  doubt  led  to  the  disasters  both  of  '81  and  '99. 

SECTION   VI.      THROUGH    IMPERIAL   RULE   TO    INDEPENDENCE. 

It  would  be  of  'course  foolish  to  maintain  that  the  Boers  enjoyed 
the  idea  of  coming  under  the  authority  of  the  Queen.  Many  of 
them,  especially  the  wealthier  and  better  educated  Boers,  as  also 
all  the  English  settlers,  and  practically  all  the  German  immigrants, 
heartily  welcomed  the  change;  to  them  it  made  all  the  difference  be- 
tween a  harassing  poverty  and  an  immediate  prosperity,  all  the 
difference  between  a  sense  of  security  and  a  permanent  condition  of 
alarm  at  the  threats  of  native  tribes.  Yet  the  majority  of  the  Boers 
must  not  be  thought  to  have  inwardly  approved  or  welcomed  the  step 
which  was  taken.  The  protest  which  President  Burgers  published,  as 
he  said  to  Shepstone,  for  reasons  of  policy  and  really  to  quiet  the  people, 
was  immediately  made  the  basis  of  action  by  the  more  determined 
antagonists  of  Great  Britain. 

The  Vice-President  of  the  country  and  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
was  Mr.  Paul  Kruger,  and  the  Attorney-General  was  a  Dr.  Jorissen, 
whose  legal  knowledge  was  afterwards  found  to  be  so  meager  that  he 
was  more  than  once  rebuked  from  the  bench  and  compelled  to  retire. 
These  two  at  the  annexation  retained  their  official  positions  and  re- 
ceived pay  from  the  British  Government.  A  letter  was  afterwards 
found  in  the  Government  offices,  through  which  Mr.  Kruger  made  a 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  177 

definite  attempt  to  obtain  some  post  in  the  Queen's  service.  Mr.  Joubert 
had  the  independence  of  mind  to  decline  office  under  the  Government 
which  he  hated;  but  the  other  two  did  not  consider  it  inconsistent  both 
to  accept  pay  as  British  officials  and  to  proceed  as  a  deputation  to  Lon- 
|  don  to  protest  against  the  annexation,  and  thereafter  to  work  for  the  re- 
bellion and  independence.  Lord  Carnarvon  received  the  deputation,  but 
very  firmly  told  them,  as  they  had  expected,  that  the  annexation  was 
final. 

While  these  protests  were  made  it  must  be  remembered  that  there 
was  no  active  resistance  within  the  Transvaal  and  no  sign  of  such.  Sub- 
mission to  Great  Britain  was  regarded  as  an  evil,  at  thought  of  which 
hundreds  of  men  ground  their  teeth  in  anger,  but  they  seem  to  have  felt 
it  an  inevitable  evil.  When  therefore  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal  is 
nowadays  described  as  an  act  of  indefensible  aggression  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain,  the  facts  which  we  have  glanced  at  must  be  clearly 
weighed  in  the  balances.  If  Great  Britain  is  to  be  convicted  of  perfidy 
and  oppression  then  a  number  of  facts  must  be  explained.  For  example, 
why  was  it  possible  for  Shepstone  to  make  his  proclamation  when  he 
had  no  British  soldiers  with  him  and  was  surrounded  simply  by  a  little 
body-guard  of  25  policemen?  Why  was  it  that  the  actual  administra- 
tion of  the  country  passed  over  into  his  hands  and  the  functions  of  gov- 
ernment were  exercised  by  him  without  one  redcoat  in  the  land?  Why 
was  it  that  Mr.  Kruger  and  other  members  of  the  little  Government 
recognized  themselves  as  officials  of  the  British  Government  and  took 
their  salaries  from  it?  Why  all  this,  if  the  Transvaal  Boers  had  not 
found  themselves  unfit  for  self-government? 

It  is  generally  asserted  nowadays  by  the  opponents  of  annexation 
that  the  Boers  could  easily  have  resisted  the  natives.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  Shepstone  lived  in  the  Transvaal  five  months  and  gave 
them  the  opportunity  to  say  this  and  to  act  upon  it,  and  they  did  not  do 
so.  In  the  very  proclamation  which  he  issued  he  made  the  threatening 
strength  of  neighboring  tribes  one  of  the  main  reasons  for  the  annexa- 
tion, and  no  Boer  commander  appeared  to  say  that  this  was  an  error  and 
that  they  were  ready  to  meet  any  such  emergency.  And  surely  if  they 
were  strong  enough  to  crush  these  tribes  they  were  strong  enough  to 
defy  Shepstone  and  25  policemen,  to  laugh  at  his  proclamation,  and 


178  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

carry  on  the  Government  for  themselves.  Those  who  maintain  that 
the  annexation  was  indefensible  and  perfidious  must  explain  how  the 
annexation  was  actually  carried  through. 

Candid  historians  will  hereafter  say  that  Great  Britain  did  wrong  to 
annex  the  Transvaal; — first,  if  she  played  them  a  trick  or  took  them  by 
surprise,  which  is  disproved  by  Shepstone's  long  residence  in  the  coun- 
try, and  the  open  discussions  of  the  entire  circumstances  before  making 
the  annexation; — second,  if  she  ought  to  have  left  the  Transvaal  as  a 
self-governing  and  independent  community  to  meet  the  miserable  fate 
which  seemed  to  all  to  be  impending  upon  her,  on  the  ground  that  Great 
Britain  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  her  internal  affairs.  There  are  those 
who  seriously  maintain  that  Great  Britain  would  have  considered  her 
own  interests  if  she  had  allowed  this  to  come  to  pass; — third,  she  was 
wrong,  if  it  was  her  duty  to  step  in  and  help  the  Transvaal  out  of  its 
difficulties,  pay  its  debt,  fight  its  battles  and  step  out  again,  thus  allow- 
ing the  country  to  enjoy  its  new-found  strength,  absolutely  independ- 
ent still.  This  no  doubt  would  have  been  the  ideal  Christian  method  of 
action,  and  there  are  those  who  maintain  that  this  is  what  she  ought  to 
have  done.  Certainly  no  believer  in  the  Christian  religion  can  criticise 
the  proposal  except  by  saying  that  no  nation  seems  as  yet,  as  a  nation, 
to  have  attained  this  height  of  abnegation,  and  that  it  would  be  a  little 
unfair  to  criticise  Great  Britain  for  not  having  carried  out  a  policy 
which  is  so  lofty  that  no  other  people  has  yet  been  found  to  pursue  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  impartial  historians  of  the  future  will  assert  that 
the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  were  wrong  when  they  acquiesced  in  the 
annexation,  if  at  the  time  they  were  strong  enough  to  maintain  their 
own  Government  and  to  fight  their  threatening  foes.  But  on  the  other 
hand,  they  did  wrong,  if  they  were  at  the  time  not  strong  enough  for 
these  efforts,  when  at  a  later  period  they  rebelled  against  the  power 
which  had  given  them  strength  and  deliverance. 

As  early  as  possible  Shepstone  made  a  tour  of  the  country,  travelling 
slowly  from  one  village  to  another,  meeting  with  the  Boers  in  all  kinds 
of  ways  in  public  meetings  and  private  conferences.  No  incident  hap- 
pened seriously  to  mar  his  peace  of  mind  or  to  suggest  that  the  country 
was  indignant  as  a  whole  at  the  annexation.  Rather  did  this  tour  seem 
to  prophesy  a  happy  future  for  the  country.  He  at  once  set  to  work 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  179 

upon  the  new  Constitution  and  form  of  Government,  which  he  had  in 
the  name  of  the  Queen  promised  to  establish.  This  Constitution  was 
forwarded  at  once  to  London  where,  alas!  and  alas!  it  was  received  and 
docketed  and  left  in  darkness  and  neglect. 

Both  in  the  Transvaal  and  in  Cape  Colony  opinion  and  feeling  were 
divided  regarding  the  act  of  annexation,  and  each  division  began  to 
express  itself  chiefly  by  the  way  of  formal  petitions  or  protests  addressed 
to  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen.  One  of  these  as  a  formal  protest  of  the  late 
Transvaal  Government  was  carried  to  England  by  the  deputation  con- 
sisting of  Mr.  Kruger  and  Dr.  Jorissen.  This  protest,  however,  lost 
much  of  its  force  by  the  fact  that  it  was  drawn  up  and  adopted  by  the 
Government  before  the  Act  of  Annexation,  and  that  the  very  men  who 
carried  it  to  England  had,  as  we  have  shown,  accepted  offices  under  the 
new  Government!  The  largest  petition  against  annexation  and  the 
most  remarkable  was  undoubtedly  that  which  was  sent  in  by  the  inhab- 
itants of  Cape  Colony.  It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  agitation 
against  annexation  took  at  first  a  far  stronger  form  around  Cape  Town, 
and  in  the  western  province  of  Cape  Colony  generally,  even  than  in  the 
Transvaal  itself.  This  petition  was  said  to  have  been  signed  by  over 
5,000  people.  It  does  not  attempt  to  describe  any  other  way  out  of  the 
distress  into  which  the  Transvaal  had  come  than  that  which  had  been 
taken,  the  only  practical  suggestion  being  that  the  population  of  the 
Transvaal  "was  loath  to  part  with  their  independence,  and  willing  for 
the  sake  of  retaining  it  to  submit  to  the  stringent  laws  which  both  the 
Republican  Government  and  your  Majesty's  special  Commissioner  con- 
sidered necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  order."  This  exceedingly 
vague  and  unnatural  statement  evidently  suggested  that  Shepstone 
ought  to  have  gone  on  making  stringent  laws  in  co-operation  with  the 
t  Transvaal  Government!  How  "stringent  laws"  could  have  effected  the 
transformation  which  was  needed  is  of  course  not  suggested. 

On  the  other  hand,  petitions  were  presented  by  Cape  Colonists,  in- 
cluding many  influential  Dutchmen,  strongly  approving  of  the  act  of 
annexation.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  who  was  a  close  observer  of  all  these 
events  and  a  man  of  most  penetrating  and  sane  judgment,  said  that  he 
had  given  every  facility  he  could  think  of  to  a  free  expression  of  opinion 
on  the  subject,  but  that  he  did  "not  receive  from  any  quarter  any  prac- 


ISO  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

tical  or  even  plausible  suggestion  for  any  alternative  course  differing 
from  that  adopted." 

Further,  petitions  were  received  above  all  in  the  Transvaal  itself 
from  large  numbers  of  influential  citizens  strongly  approving  of  the 
annexation.  The  first  of  these  was  signed  by  certain  members  of  the 
Volksraad,  officials  of  various  kinds  under  the  previous  Government, 
land  owners  and  other  inhabitants.  This  petition  which  is  very  ably 
and  clearly  drawn  affirms  that  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  companion  rep- 
resented "only  a  small  minority  of  the  influential  inhabitants  of  the 
country."  It  emphasized  the  prolonged  consideration  of  the  matter 
while  Shepstone  was  in  the  country  and  asserts  that  by  its  silence  "the 
population  practically  acquiesced  in  the  act."  His  mission  was  known 
and  yet  no  movement  was  organized  against  it,  hence  "coercion  cannot 
be  maintained."  The  petition  refers  to  the  weakness  of  the  former  ad- 
ministration under  which,  it  asserts,  that  civil  war  was  impending.  It 
says  that  Shepstone  by  his  ready  tact  had  already  assuaged  the  anti-Bri- 
tish bitterness  of  the  farming  population,  that  the  measures  of  reform 
which  the  Volksraad  had  last  approved  had  never  been  enforced,  and  it 
had  not  been  shown  how  they  could  be.  It  insisted  on  the  dangerous 
state  of  matters  in  relation  to  the  native  tribes.  The  other  petition  was 
likewise  signed  by  land  proprietors  and  other  inhabitants.  It  affirms 
that  the  petitioners  "although  they  might  have  been  well  content  to  live 
in  an  independent  Republic,  if  it  had  been  well  governed,  were  satisfied 
with  the  proceedings  of  the  special  Commissioner"  on  account  of  the 
proved  incapacity  of  the  late  Government  to  promote  the  prosperity  and 
insure  the  safety  of  inhabitants.  Besides  these  there  were  many  ad- 
dresses from  small  communities,  official  bodies,  and  private  individuals 
in  various  parts  of  the  Transvaal,  all  expressing  approval  of  the  step. 

Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration,  the  difficulty  is  not  to 
prove  that  the  annexation  was  at  the  time  a  thoroughly  righteous  pro- 
ceeding and  even  approved  by  the  most  powerful  sections  of  the  country; 

• 

the  difficulty  is,  to  account  for  the  gradual  rising  tide  of  disaffection  and 
the  disasters  of  1881.  On  the  whole  it  would  seem  that  the  following 
facts  yield  the  best  account  of  this  extraordinary  change.  In  the  first 
place,  a  few  energetic  Boers  with  Mr.  Kruger  and  Mr.  Joubert  at  their 
head,  persistently  carried  on  a  public  agitation.  They  called  meetings, 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  181 

interviewed  individuals,  went  on  deputations  to  London,  interfered 
wherever  possible  even  with  the  executive  authorities,  and,  in  fact,  did 
all  that  could  be  done  to  keep  alive  in  the  minds  of  the  farming  popula- 
tion their  ancient  hatred  of  British  rule.  Potchefstroom,  one  of  the 
oldest  centers  of  population,  became  the  headquarters  of  the  agitations. 
In  the  second  place, -and  it  is  a  most  remarkable  thing,  that  the  execu- 
tive allowed  this  agitation  to  proceed.  Even  when  steps  were  taken 
which  looked  like  open  rebellion  the  leaders  were  allowed  to  go  unpun- 
ished. Meetings  that  were  avowedly  revolutionary  were  not  prevented. 
As  these  events  succeeded  one  another  they  failed  to  produce  the  im- 
pression which  was  intended,  upon  the  minds  of  the  Boers,  viz.,  that  the 
British  Government  was  generous  to  all,  and  shrank  in  the  name  of 
justice  from  hindering  the  expression  of  .private  opinion,  and  allowed 
the  Boers  to  do  just  what  her  own  citizens  were  allowed  to  do  in  London 
or  Manchester.  The  attitude  of  the  Government  on  the  contrary  pro- 
duced on  the  minds  of  the  Boers  an  impression  of  weakness,  insincerity 
and  a  lack  of  determination  to  hold  the  country  forever.  For  example, 
when  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  in  January,  1880,  had  the  courage  to  arrest 
two  of  the  Boer  leaders  and  put  them  in  prison  awaiting  their  trial,  he 
suddenly  dropped  the  prosecution,  he  even  went  the  length  of  nominat- 
ing one  of  these  men,  arrested  for  high  treason,  as  a  member  of  the  new 
Legislature!  The  utter  lack  of  insight  into  Boer  nature  which  this  dis- 
played is  astounding.  The  real  effect  is  piquantly  expressed  in  a  re- 
mark made  by  a  Boer  in  a  meeting  two  months  later.  "Yes,"  he  said, 
"it  appears  you  must  be  first  put  in  prison  before  you  can  get  a  good 
appointment."  It  is  true  that  both  Shepstone  and  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley, 
when  he  succeeded  Shepstone,  repeatedly  spoke  of  the  annexation  as 
final  and  irrevocable;  their  words  were  firm  but  their  acts  were  weak. 
But  in  another  direction  the  Government  undoubtedly  blundered. 
They  failed,  as  we  have  seen,  to  provide  a  Legislative  Chamber  as  they 
had  promised.  This  failure  may  have  been  due,  as  some  suggest,  to  the 
opinion  that  if  South  African  confederation  was  approaching  it  would 
be  more  easily  carried  through  before  such  a  Legislature  was  estab- 
lished; and  the  Legislature  itself  could  then  be  created  so  as  to  fit  into 
the  scheme  of  confederation  that  should  be  achieved.  It  is  much  more 
probable  that  the  delay  was  due  to  the  unconfessed  fear  on  the  part  of 


J82  THE   TRAXSl'AAL  REPUBLIC. 

the  authorities  in  London  lest  the  new  Volksraad  should  be  captured  by 
the  malcontents  and  become  a  more  powerful  instrument  than  they 
already  possessed,  in  their  struggle  for  independence.  The  Boers  were 
not  only  irritated  by  the  absence  of  their  Legislature  but  by  what 
seemed  to  them  some  arbitrary  acts  on  the  part  of  their  military  rulers. 
Especially  did  the  conduct  of  affairs  by  Sir  Owen  Lanyon  create  disaf- 
fection and  offend  the  proud  independence  of  the  farmers.  And  they 
hated  all  direct  taxation,  resisting  even  with  blood  any  efforts  to  en- 
force it. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  by  this  time,  the  Zulu  war  had  taken 
place  and  the  power  of  Cetywayo  had  been  finally  destroyed.  More- 
over, towards  the  end  of  1879  it  had  been  found  absolutely  necessary  to 
meet  with  Secocoeni  who  had  been  carrying  on  with  impunity  various 
little  invasions  of  the  Transvaal  territory.  His  strong  fortress  had  to 
be  attacked  and  was  only  conquered  at  considerable  cost,  with  very 
little  help  from  the  Boers  and  the  expenditure  of  many  thousands  of 
pounds  of  British  money.  Nevertheless  this  Transvaal  enemy  was  also 
conquered.  The  Boers  in  the  north  therefore  could  spread  themselves 
once  more  into  territories  which  they  had  abandoned  under  their  own 
Government  and  feel  secure.  In  fact,  one  more-of  the  great  reasons  for 
the  weakness  of  the  Boer  Government  and  causes  of  the  annexation  had 
been  removed.  Independence  would  be  safe. 

Yet  another  explanation  of  the  change  from  acquiescence  in  the  an- 
nexation to  open  and  powerful  rebellion  must  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
certain  British  statesmen  spoke  words  in  the  heat  of  election  contests  in 
Great  Britain,  which  condemned  the  annexation  in  strong  terms  and 
seemed  to  suggest  that  if  a  change  of  administration  took  place  in  Lon- 
don a  change  would  take  place  at  .Pretoria.  Mr.  Gladstone  especially 
during  his  election  campaign  in  Mid-Lothian  would  appear  to  have  pro- 
duced this  effect  in  the  Transvaal.  It  is  true  that  when  he  came  into 
power  he  and  his  officers  repudiated  the  notion  of  giving  up  the  Trans- 
vaal, and  spoke  of  the  annexation  as  a  final  act,  absolutely  irrevocable; 
but  they  as  leaders  had  to  reckon  not  only  with  their  own  utterances 
but  with  the  criticisms  of  some  of  their  supporters.  It  is  even  asserted 
that  one  supporter  of  Mr.  Gladstone  was  treacherous  enough  to  com- 
municate to  the  disaffected  Boers  his  idea  that  if  they  only  persisted 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  183 

long  enough  and  strongly  enough,  Mr.  Gladstone  would  give  way.  And 
he  did  give  way.  These  things  happened  in  1880.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  year  matters  reached  a  crisis  through  the  effort  of  Sir  Owen  Lanyon, 
who  tried  to  force  the  payment  of  his  taxes  by  a  Boer  who  had  refused 
to  do  so.  This  was  no  uncommon  predicament  even  in  the  days  of  the 
previous  Government,  but  the  aggravating  thing  was  that  whereas  the 
Boer  Government  did  not  use  force  in  such  cases  Sir  Owen  Lanyon  at- 
tempted to  do  so.  He  suddenly  found  that  the  Boer  was  ready  to  resist 
and  at  the  same  time  found  that,  through  various  careless  movements 
of  troops,  he  had  no  adequate  force  at  his  own  disposal. 

It  must  also  be  once  more  asserted  that  one  of  the  most  disastrous 
proceedings  of  the  British  Government  in  South  Africa  at  this  time  was 
the  division  of  the  High  Commissionership,  and  many  regard  this  as  one 
secret  of  the  blundering  and  therefore  one  cause  of  the  war.  Sir  Bar- 
tie  Frere  made  a  journey  during  the  Zulu  war  into  the  Transvaal,  where 
he  met  large  numbers  of  citizens.  He  interviewed  both  in  public  ancl  pri- 
vate even  the  malcontents  themselves,  and  showed  in  that  brief  period 
the  great  power  of  his  personality  and  the  influence  which  he  could  have 
gained  over  the  Dutch  people.  It  must  be  remembered  that  only  those 
could  at  that  time  deal  with  the  Transvaal  Boers  successfully  who  were 
known  to  be  men  of  great  determination  and  religious  convictions.  It 
is  easy  to  laugh  down  the  notion  that  religion  should  have  any.  part  in 
political  affairs.  It  is  not  so  easy  for  the  scientific  student  of  history 
to  ignore  the  extraordinary  influence  which  religious  characters  have 
exerted  in  most  of  the  great  crises  of  national  history.  The  Boers  are 
intensely  religious,  even  although  their  type  of  religion  be  very  poor. 
They  understand  a  man  who  is  in  earnest  about  the  eternal,  they  feel 
the  influence  of  that  spirit  upon  his  actions  and  his  words,  even  when  he 
is  farthest  from  making  a  religious  speech  or  using  pious  phrases.  It  is 
not  too  much  to  say  that  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  fitted  by  reason  of  his 
religious  reputation  to  gain  in  six  months  an  ascendency  over  the  Boer 
mind  which  20  years  of  astute  politics  or  stern  militarism  could  not  pos- 
sibly have  gained.  But  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was,  by  the  persistent  and 
disastrous  and  inexplicable  blundering  in  London,  prevented  from  exer- 
cising official  authority  in  the  Transvaal.  When  Shepstone  was  ap- 
pointed he  was  made  independent  of  the  High  Commissioner  for  South 


184  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

Africa;  when  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  went  out  he  was  appointed  High 
Commissioner  for  Southeastern  Africa,  including  the  Transvaal,  and 
when  Sir  Owen  Lanyon  succeeded  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley,  Bartle  Frere 
was  still,  as  it  were,  told  "hands  off." 

In  the  beginning  of  December  a  mass-meeting  of  Boers  was  held  at 
Paardekraal,  from  which  it  adjourned  to  a  safer  place.  On  December 
16,  1880,  a  proclamation  was  issued  which  announced  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  Republic  and  named  Messrs.  Kruger,  Joubert  and  Pretorius 
as  the  responsible  leaders  of  the  Republic  until  the  country  should  be 
in  their  hands  again.  A  messenger  was  at  once  sent  to  Shepstone 
announcing  this  action  and  giving  him  48  hours  to  surrender  the  coun- 
try. On  this  very  same  day,  however,  fighting  began  at  Potchefstroom, 
wrhere  the  Boers  attacked  a  patrol  of  Englishmen.  While  the  war  was 
thus  formally  opened,  the  first  important  military  event  took  place  at 
Bronker's  Spruit.  Shepstone  had  ordered  Col.  Anstruther  to  bring  up 
a  small  force  of  a  little  more  than  250  men  at  once  to  Pretoria.  They 
had  to  march  180  miles  from  Lydenburg,  and  were  within  a  very  short 
distance  of  their  destination  on  Sunday,  the  20th  of  December.  They 
were  marching  in  a  long,  thin  line  without  anxiety,  when  all  at  once 
they  saw  what  turned  out  to  be  a  force  of  about  500  mounted  Boers  in 
front  of  them.  A  Boer  advanced  with  the  white  flag  and  Col.  Anstru- 
ther went  out  with  a  companion  to  meet  him.  While  they  wrere  nego- 
tiating under  the  white  flag  the  Boers  moved  about,  taking  up  every 
vantage  point  which  they  could  see.  The  Boer  messenger  announced 
that  Col.  Anstruther  must  cease  his  march  to  Pretoria  until  they  heard 
Shepstone's  answer  to  the  proclamation  of  the  Republic.  Anstruther 
replied  that  he  must  obey  orders,  and  he  intended  to  move  on.  Before 
he  could  return  to  his  men  the  Boers,  who  had  surrounded  the  little 
force  and  placed  themselves  behind  every  rock  and  tree  that  was  avail- 
able, poured  a  deadly  fire  upon  them.  The  officers  of  course  were  care- 
fully picked  out  and  every  one  of  them  was  shot  down,  killed  or 
wounded.  Col.  Anstruther  was  actually  struck  in  five  places.  Of 
course  there  was  only  one  result  possible;  within  fifteen  minutes  56 
were  killed,  101  were  wounded,  including  a  woman,  and  the  dying  Col- 
onel gave  the  signal  for  surrender. 

This  event  produced  consternation  throughout  the  country.     The 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  185 

natives  were  in  despair;  the  Boer  insurrectionaries  were  exultant;  they 
were  "bowed  down,"  they  said,  "in  the  dust  before  Almighty  God,  Who 
had  thus  stood  by  them  and  with  a  loss  of  over  a  hundred  of  the  enemy 
only  allowed  two  of  ours  to  be  killed."  The  little  British  garrisons 
placed  at  five  or  six  different  towns  were  all  at  once  attacked.  They 
were  besieged  until  the  end  of  the  war,  but  not  one  of  them  was  cap- 
tured. At  Potchefstroom  alone  was  their  surrender  secured  by  the 
redoubtable  and  unscrupulous  General  Cronje.  Although  by  that  time 
an  armistice  had  been  arranged  and  active  warfare  had  ceased,  Cronje 
deceived  the  Colonel  in  command  into  a  surrender.  This  shameful  act 
was  in  keeping  with  Cronje's  career  both  then  and  afterwards;  but  it 
was  repudiated  generally  even  by  the  Boers  themselves. 

In  the  meantime  the  Boers  advanced  toward  Natal  to  meet  the 
attack  which  they  expected  from  Sir  George  Colley,  who  had  a  small 
British  force  under  his  command  in  that  region.  Sir  George  Colley 
was  a  popular  official  and  administrator,  but  no  one  has  yet  been  able 
to  account  for  the  extraordinary  tactics  which  he  pursued  throughout 
his  disastrous  campaign.  He  exposed  himself  three  times  in  succession 
to  the  attacks  of  the  Boers,  under  circumstances  which  made  defeat 
inevitable,  at  Newcastle  and  at  the  battle  of  Ingogo. 

The  darkest  hour  for  the  British  cause  and  the  brightest  for  the 
Transvaalers  came  with  the  dawn  of  February  27.  During  the  night 
of  the  26th  General  Colley,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  his  officers,  gave 
orders  that  600  men  were  to  leave  the  camp  with  him.  In  the  dark- 
ness they  set  out  and  found  themselves  being  led  straight  up  the  steep 
sides  of  Majuba  Hill.  This  huge  round  hill  stands  as  a  kind  of  sentinel 
between  Natal  and  the  Transvaal.  On  its  western  and  nortlnvestern 
slopes  it  looks  down  a  steep  descent  upon  the  pass,  or  "nek,"  where  the 
road  pierces  the  range  of  mountains  and  connects  the  two  countries. 
(Below  that  road  again  nowadays  runs  the  railway  tunnel.)  It  was  a 
terrific  undertaking,  which,  however,  was  courageously  carried  out. 

When  light  came  the  Boers  w^ere  amazed,  and  at  first  overwhelmed, 
to  find  that  their  enemies  occupied  this  commanding  position.  It  is 
said  that  General  Joubert  at  once  ordered  a  retreat,  that  they  had 
even  begun  to  inspan  their  oxen,  when  some  quick  wits  noticed  that 
there  was  no  sign  of  the  advance  of  a  strong  force  from  the  camp.  This 


186  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

at  once  meant  to  them  that  the  force  on  Majuba  top  was  isolated  and 
unsupported.  Immediately  a  few  courageous  hearts  proposed  that  an 
effort  should  be  made  to  dislodge  the  daring  company  which  had  occu- 
pied the  mountain.  Among  those  who  urged  this  attempt,  instead  of 

• 

flight,  is  said  to  have  been  General  Joubert's  wife,  who  energetically 
urged  her  husband  not  to  retreat  until  this  attack  had  been  tried.  It 
looked  desperate  enough,  but  volunteers  were  found,  it  is  said,  to  the 
number  of  150,  who  immediately  began  to  climb  the  hill.  They  crept 
from  rock  to  rock,  pausing  at  each  to  fire  a  shot  at  the  figures  standing 
out  above  them  against  the  distant  sky  line.  The  British  troops,  who 
fringed  the  crest,  were  baffled  at  once  by  having  to  fire  down  the  abrupt 
face  of  the  hill,  and  by  the  fact  that  their  enemies  seldom  showed  them- 
selves. It  wras  soon  found  that  one  British  soldier  after  another  was 
shot,  while  there  seemed  to  be  no  chance  of  effective  retaliation.  As 
the  Boers  drew  nearer  the  summit,  the  men  .at  the  front  drew  back. 
The  top  of  the  hill  is  somewhat  hollow  and  Sir  George  Colley,  for  some 
extraordinary  reason  or  other,  allowed  his  men  to  retreat  into  this 
hollow.  As  soon  as  the  Boers  arrived  on  the  crest,  instead  of  being 
instantly  shot  down  by  wary,  watchful  foes,  they  found  themselves 
looking  upon  a  huddled  mass,  terrified  and  disordered.  They  poured  in 
their  fierce  hail  of  lead  and  instantly  the  mass  scattered.  One  Boer  is 
said  afterwards  to  have  described  the  way  in  which  running  to  the  side 
of  the  hill  he  stood  there,  and,  while  the  flying  British  ran  pell-mell 
down  the  slope,  he  picked  them  off  like  springboks,  and  watched  one 
after  aaother  as  he  was  hit  leap  forward  and  roll  headlong  downwards. 
Sir  George  Colley  himself  did  not  attempt  flight,  but,  standing  his 
ground  in  the  horrible  hollow,  received  his  death  from  a  bullet  in  the 
head. 

This  signal  victory  of  the  Boers,  so  sudden,  so  complete,  so  dramatic 
in  its  circumstances,  sent  a  shudder  of  amazement  throughout  the 
world.  At  once  it  was  seen  that  the  Boers  had  gained  an  enormous 
moral  advantage.  From  their  point  of  view  the  victory  seemed  to  pre- 
sage either  a  terrible  vengeance  from  an  exasperated  Empire  or  the 
immediate  success  of  their  cause.  The  British  Government  had  to  face 
one  of  the  most  trying  tasks  in  the  history  of  any  government.  Having 
already  decided  to  restore  practically  complete  self-government  to  the 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  18? 

Boers,  they  had  either  to  withdraw  from  that  resolve  in  order  to  avenge 
Majuba  Hill  or  to  prosecute  it  in  the  face  of  a  country  maddened  with 
the  sense  of  defeat.  It  surely  says  much  for  Mr.  Gladstone  and  his 
Government  that  they  had  the  magnanimity  to  carry  out  their  purpose, 
and  surely  it  ought  to  be  remembered  to  the  credit  of  the  British  people 
that  they  did  not  instantly  overwhelm  the  Government  and  cast  them 
from  power  for  doing  so. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  at  the  scene  of  war,  troops  were 
being  hurried  out  from  England  under  Sir  Frederick  Roberts  (now  Lord 
Roberts),  numerous  enough  to  have  made  a  swift  victory  absolutely  sure. 
But  in  the  meantime  the  Government  itself  began  to  waver.  Before  even 
the  disaster  of  Majuba  Hill,  Mr.  Gladstone's  Cabinet  had  resolved  to  make 
some  arrangement  with  the  Boers  short  of  fighting  it  out  and  holding 
the  Republic  by  force.  If  they  had  weakened  so  far  it  simply  became  a 
question  as  to  how  much  they  should  give  up  and  how  little  they  should 
retain.  Every  telegram  drove  them  further,  while  every  victory  on  the 
battlefield  increased  the  spirits  of  the  Boer  leaders,  brought  streams  of 
volunteers  to  their  ranks,  and  made  them  more  determined  and  proud  in 
their  demands.  Finally  Mr.  Gladstone  decided  that  the  Transvaal 
must  be  given  up,  and  that  the  only  question  remaining  was  to  fix 
the  conditions  under  which  self-government  should  be  once  more 
granted  to  the  Boers.  To  determine  this  a  commission  was  appointed, 
which  after  conducting  negotiations  in  Natal,  proceeded  to  Pretoria. 
A  report  of  this  commission  was  made  the  basis  of  the  document  hence- 
forth known  as  the  Pretoria  Convention  of  1881.  According  to  this 
arrangement  the  Transvaal  once  more  received  self-government,  the 
British  Government  appointing  a  Resident  to  live  at  Pretoria  whose 
functions  it  should  be  to  supervise  the  relations  of  the  Boer  people  to 
native  tribes  outside  their  borders  and  the  great  native  populations 
within  the  Transvaal.  An  investigation  of  the  finances  of  the  country 
showed  that  altogether  Great  Britain  had  spent,  over  and  above  what 
had  been  received  in  taxes,  in  the  payment  of  salaries,  meeting  the  pub- 
lic debt,  paying  the  cost  of  the  successful  expedition  against  Secocoeni, 
no  less  a  sum  than  £800,000  (about  $4,000,000).  This  sum  the  Commis- 
sioners actually  reduced  to  £265,000  (about  $1,300,000). 

The  news  of  the  retrocession  of  the  Transvaal  struck  the  South  Af- 


188  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

rican  world  with  amazement  and  dismay.  The  loyalists  throughout 
every  colony  and  state  were  thrown  into  the  most  dismal  humiliation. 
The  Boers  became  elated,  their  hearts  afire  with  the  hope  that  this  pre- 
saged the  dawn  of  Boer  supremacy  in  South  Africa.  These  feelings 
were  strongly  enough  aroused  in  Cape  Colony,  Natal  and  the  Orange 
Free  State,  but  of  course  beyond  all  else  was  the  contrast  of  humiliation 
and  exultation  to  be  observed  among  the  population  of  the  Transvaal. 
Thousands  had  remained  loyal  to  Great  Britain.  To  them  it  was  well- 
known  that  the  victory  of  the  Boers  made  their  personal  ruin  inevitable. 
They  had  been  assured  that  the  annexation  was  final;  they  had  bought 
land  and  built  houses,  invested  capital  in  their  business  on  this  assur- 
ance; they  had  resisted  every  temptation  to  disloyalty,  consented  to 
face  the  loss  of  business  and  of  money  rather  than  join  those  whom  they 
called  the  rebels.  All  this  they  had  done  through  faith  in  the  words 
not  only  of  Wolseley  and  Frere  and  Lanyon,  but  even  the  ringing  words 
of  Mr.  Gladstone  himself  when  he  said  after  his  accession  to  office,  "the 
Queen  cannot  be  advised  to  relinquish  her  sovereignty  over  the  Trans- 
vaal." Now  that  ruin  stared  them  in  the  face  we  are  told  by  one  who 
witnessed  their  sad  plight,  "that  they  did  not  say  much,  and  indeed 
there  was  nothing  to  be  said.  They  simply  began  to  pack  up  such 
things  as  they  could  carry  with  them,  and  to  leave  the  country,  which 
they  well  knew  would  henceforth  be  utterly  untenable  for  Englishmen 
or  English  sympathizers.  In  a  few  weeks  they  began  pouring  down  into 
Newcastle  (Natal)  by  hundreds;  it  was  the  most  melancholy  exodus  that 
can  be  imagined.  There  were  people  of  all  classes,  officials,  gentlefolk, 
working  people  and  loyal  Boers,  but  they  had  a  connecting  link;  they 
had  all  been  loyal  and  they  were  all  ruined."  (History  of  the  Trans- 
vaal, by  H.  Rider  Haggard.) 

But  after  all  there  was  a  large  number  of  human  folk  who  still  must 
be  mentioned  to  whom  retrocession  brought  yet  deeper  despair.  These 
were  the  natives,  who  had  no  other  land  in  which  they  could  find  refuge. 
They  had  most  enthusiastically  welcomed  the  British  rule;  they  had 
begun  to  taste  something  of  fair  administration,  and  knew  what  it  was 
to  be  recognized  by  a  white  man's  government  as  human  beings  for  the 
first  time.  They  outnumbered  the  Boers  by  far  more  than  20  to  1 ;  they 
had  offered  when  the  war  began  to  aid  the  British  and,  if  Shepstone  had 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  189 

given  them  leave,  the  war  would  never  have  gone  far.  The  bitter  task 
was  laid  upon  Shepstone  of  summoning  to  Pretoria  the  native  chiefs,  to 
the  number  of  about  a  hundred,  in  order  to  announce  to  them  that  once 
more  they  were  under  the  Boer  Government.  It  was  a  strange  scene  upon 
which  the  English,  who  were  present,  looked,  with  now  their  hearts  full 
of  passion  and  anon  their  eyes  full  of  tears.  The  black  people  wailed 
aloud  unrestrainedly.  The  chiefs  rose  one  after  another  to  speak  the 
hot  words  that  were  in  their  hearts.  Some  of  them  protested  against 
being  "thus  treated  as  a  stick  or  piece  of  tobacco,  which  could  be  passed 
from  hand  to  hand  without  question."  One  after  another  they  arose 
and  protested  "I  am  English,  I  Belong  to  the  English,  we  are  under  the 
Queen,  we  must  stay  with  the  Queen."  One  of  them  said,  "We  would 
like  to  have  the  man  pointed  out  from  among  us  black  people  who  ob- 
jects to  the  rule  of  the  Queen.  We  are  the  real  owners  of  the  land.  * 
*  *  Did  it  not  belong  to  our  fathers  and  forefathers  before  us  long 
before  the  Boers  came  here?"  Another  said,  "Our  hearts  are  black  and 
heavy  with  grief  to-day  at  the  news  told  us.  We  are  in  agony;  we  do 
not  know  what  will  become  of  us,  but  we  feel  dead;  it  may  be  that  the 
Lord  will  change  the  nature  of  the  Boer,  and  that  we  will  not  be  treated 
like  dogs  and  beasts  of  burden  as  formerly,  but  we  have  no  hope  of  such 
a  change,  and  we  leave  you  with  heavy  hearts  and  great  apprehension 
as  to  the  future."  WTe  are  told  that  one  chief  who  had  been  personally 
threatened  with  death  by  the  Boers  after  the  English  were  driven  out, 
simply  wept  like  a  child.  These  quotations  are  guaranteed  as  repre- 
senting the  very  things  that  were  said  and  done  at  this  most  tragic  of 
all  the  tragic  gatherings  which,  even  down  to  this  day,  Pretoria  has 
seen.  Another  incident  of  a  more  trifling  nature  may  be  mentioned 
because  it  has  been  recalled  since  the  present  war  began  (1900).  While 
the  Pretoria  Convention  was  being  signed  in  Government  House,  just 
outside  about  2,000  loyalists  and  native  chiefs  had  placed  the  British 
flag  in  a  coffin  and  on  the  coffin  had  written  the  word  "resurgam"  (I  shall 
arise),  and  solemnly  buried  it. 

Of  course  justice  must  be  done  to  those  in  England  who  were  ignor- 
ant of  the  fact  that  the  Boer  party  was  only  a  part  of  the  white  popula- 
tion of  the  Transvaal  even  if  a  majority,  and  who  forgot  that  all  the 
whites  put  together  were  to  the  blacks  a  mere  drop  in  the  bucket;  who 


190  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

forgot  that  four  years  of  sovereignty  had  created  most  solemn  and  last- 
ing responsibilities;  that  public  and  official  pledges  had  been  given 
which  laid  the  most  binding  moral  obligations  upon  the  British  Govern- 
ment towards  many  most  loyal  citizens  of  various  races.  They  were, 
however,  to  a  large  extent  captivated  by  the  moral  glamour  thrown 
around  the  act  of  retrocession  by  the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Gladstone.  To 
him  and  to  them  it  seemed  that  England  was  doing  one  of  the  grandest 
and  most  generous  things  in  history,  restoring  a  country  small  and  easy 
to  be  crushed,  restoring  it  at  the  very  hour  when  passion  called  for 
vengeance,  restoring  it  in  the  name  of  that  freedom,  that  love  of  democ- 
racy and  that  principle  that  the  majority  must  rule,  which  have  now  for 
so  long  dominated  English  history.  They  expected  that  the  world 
would  feel  this  generosity,  nay  more,  that  the  Boers  themselves  might 
be  captivated  by  a  magnanimity  so  extraordinary  and  might  be  won 
over  to  a  better  understanding  of  England  and  England's  heart!  Alas! 
the  sad  history  of  succeeding  j^ears  has  shown  that  this  act  of  Mr.  Glad- 
stone's, however  generous  its  intention  towards  a  few  thousand  Boers, 
was  a  crushing  blow  to  700,000  natives.  It  did  not  impress  the  Boers 
with  Britain's  magnanimity,  it  convinced  them  of  her  weakness ;  it  did 
not  win  the  world's  approval,  for  to-day  when,  in  America  and  Russia, 
people  speak  of  this  matter  it  is  to  condemn  England  for  the  cruelty  of 
the  annexation  and  to  praise  the  Boers  for  the  bravery  of  their  triumph- 
ant war  of  independence. 

SECTION  VII.    THE   CONSTITUTIONS   OF   THE   TWO    REPUBLICS. 

The  constitutions  of  the  Transvaal  State  and  the  Orange  Free  State 
have  been  very  lucidly  described  by  Mr.  James  Bryce  (The  Forum, 
Volume  21,  1896).  The  following  brief  account  of  them  is  largely  in- 
debted to  that  article: 

To  begin  with  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  Boers  who  went  out 
on  the  Great  Trek  from  Cape  Colony  did  so  because  they  disliked  the 
government  under  which  they  had  been  living.  When  they  passed 
northwards  and  eastwards  they  broke  up  into  many  separate  groups, 
and  these  groups  usually  put  themselves  under  the  leadership  of  the 
most  powerful  man  amongst  them.  This  was  on  their  part  a  voluntary 
act,  and  an  act  of  the  people,  as  it  were,  taken  mainly  with  a  view  to 


eg 


N  *"C 

£  IS 

S  c° 

s  §p< 


u  5| 

o    ,,2 

«  s: 


- 


«     is 

u.   5N 

w    °°  * 


21 


H     ll 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  193 

their  effective  self-defence  against  the  attacks  of  native  tribes.  When 
they  settled  down  in  any  region  they  proceeded  to  arrange  in  a  crudely 
formal  way  for  their  mutual  help  and  defence. 

Their  working  ideals  resembled  rather  the  patriarchal  than  any 
other  organized  social  system.  Each  farmer  sought  as  large  a  farm  as 
possible  where  he  and  his  large  family  and  their  native  servants  could 
live  practically  as  a  law  unto  themselves,  owning  only  the  supremacy 
of  the  father  and  master  of  the  community.  If  they  had  been  sure  of 
immunity  from  attacks  by  British  or  native  enemies  their  form  of  gov- 
ernment would  very  probably  have  remained  entirely  undeveloped. 
When,  as  in  the  Transvaal,  small  hamlets  were  formed  around  a  store 
and  a  church,  a  nucleus  was  made  from  which  the  system  of  government 
gradually  grew.  Thus  we  find  that  in  the  Transvaal  from  1852  to  1864 
there  were  really  four  separate  little  governments.  These  were  organ- 
ized mainly  for  military  purposes.  There  was  practically  no  taxation,, 
no  legislation,  no  administration  beyond  the  appointment  of  military 
officers  in  the  different  districts.  The  function  of  the  officers  was  to 
bring  the  farmers  together  when  necessity  for  fighting  with  a  neighbor- 
ing native  tribe  had  arisen. 

The  Boers  never  liked  any  Governors  even  when  they  were  appointed 
from  among  themselves.  They  accordingly  were  slow  to  adopt  any 
formal  constitution.  When  in  the  Transvaal  such  a  constitution  was 
drawn  up  in  the  year  1858  it  remained  practically  inoperative  until  in 
1864  the  separate  republics  melted  into  one  under  the  sway  of  President 
Pretorius. 

In  the  Orange  Free  State  the  conditions  had  necessitated  the  formal 
establishment  of  a  government  from  t'ie  beginning.  To  start  with,  they 
had  already  lived  in  that  country  under  the  British  Government,  and 
when  the  latter,  against  the  will  of  the  farmers,  insisted  that  they  should 
become  self-governing  it  was  necessary  to  provide  for  the  continuance 
of  offices  of  administration  already  at  work.  Moreover  the  citizens  of 
that  State  had  from  the  first  a  great  fear  of  the  powerful  Basuto  tribe 
on  their  eastern  border.  The  threatening  proximity  of  that  people 
compelled  them  to  arrange  plans  at  once  for  the  effective  self-defense 
of  the  entire  community.  Accordingly  we  find  that  the  Orange  Free 
State  began  by  drawing  up  its  Constitution,  whereas  the  Transvaal 


194  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

State  did  not  in  any  of  its  parts  apparently  attempt  such  a  thing  until 
six  years  after  its  recognition  as  a  Government,  and  that  Constitution 
was  not  adopted  by  the  whole  country  until  six  years  more  had  passed, 
as  we  have  seen. 

The  ideal  underlying  the  Constitution  of  both  Republics  is  that  all 
the  farmers,  being  of  course  white  people,  are  on  an  equality  as  citizens, 
and  have  an  equal  voice  in  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  State. 
Possibly,  as  Mr.  Bryce  has  suggested,  if  they  had  lived  within  shorter 
distances  from  one  another  they  might  have  continued  for  some  time  to 
carry  on  all  legislation  by  direct  popular  vote.  But  from  the  beginning 
they  scattered  themselves  over  so  large  an  area  that  this  was  impossible 
and  the  system  of  government  by  representation  or  delegation  was  seen 
to  be  necessary.  In  each  State  accordingly  provision  was  made  for  the 
election  of  representatives  who  formed  the  Volksraad  or  people's  coun- 
cil. This  in  each  of  these  States  is  the  supreme  authority.  The  entire 
legislation  and  appointment  of  officers,  except  the  President  and  Com- 
mandant, the  entire  internal  and  external  policy  of  the  State  is  in  the 
last  resort  placed  in  the  power  of  this  House  of  Legislature. 

In  each  State  it  is  formally  and  firmly  provided  that  only  white  men 
may  enjoy  citizenship. 

In  the  Orange  Free  State  the  terms  of  enfranchisement  have  always 
been  very  simple  and  easy.  A  foreigner  could  become  a  full  citizen  after 
two  years'  residence  if  he  owned  land  property  to  'the  value  of  £150 
(about  $750),  or  after  three  years'  residence  if  he  made  an  affirmation  of 
allegiance  to  the  Orange  Free  State.  The  supreme  authority  in  that 
State  rests  in  the  Volksraad  which  consists  of  a  single  Chamber  made 
up  of  58  members.  These  are  elected  by  the  wards  into  which  every 
District  of  the  State  is  divided,  together  with  the  chief  town  or  village  of 
each  of  these  wards.  The  members  are  elected  for  four  years,  but  half 
of  these  retire  every  two  years.  The  work  assigned  to  the  Volksraad 
consists  not  merely  in  passing  laws  or  regulating  financial  and  com- 
mercial as  well  as  criminal  affairs,  it  is  empowered  also  to  promote  re- 
ligion and  education.  The  religion  is  to  be  promoted  only  through  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  which  is  thus  the  established  church  of  the 
State.  It  is  especially  provided  that  the  Raad  shall  not  have  the  power 
to  pass  any  law  against  the  right  of  public  meeting  and  petitions. 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

'.The  most  prominent  office  in  the  Orange  Free  State  is  of  coarse  that 
of  President,  whose  incumbent  is  directly  chosen  by  the  entire  people. 
The  Volksraad  is  allowed  before  the  election  to  nominate  one  or  more 
suitable  men  to  the  electors.  The  President  holds  office  for  five  years, 
and  may  be  re-elected.  As  a  matter  of  fact  Sir  John  Brand  was  elected 
altogether  five  times.  The  President  is  expected  to  be  present  at  all 
discussions  of  the  Raad,  and  may  address  them  on  any  subject  under 
discussion;  he  may  even  introduce  bills.  But  the  President  is  not 
allowed  to  vote  in  the  House  on  any  subject;  nor  when  the  House  has 
passed  a  law  has  he  the  power  of  veto.  He  must  report  to  the  Eaad 
regarding  the  finances  of  the  country  and  its  interests  as  a  whole.  He 
is  surrounded  by  a  council  of  five  men,  all  of  whom  are  appointed  not 
by  him  but  by  the  Kaad,  he  being  allowed  to  nominate  two  of  these.  It 
is  through  the  President  that  foreign  and  diplomatic  relations  are  main- 
tained, and  through  him  war  is  declared,  but  for  all  these  he  must  have 
the  counsel  of  the  Raad.  ( 

Every  citizen  is  bound  to  take  a 'share  when  it  is  demanded  of  him  in 
the  military  operations  of  the  State.  For  this  purpose  every  ward  has 
at  its  head  one  who  is  called  the  Veldt  Cornet,  and  every  District,  con- 
sisting of  several  wards,  has  a  Commandant.  These  two  classes  of  mili- 
tary officers  are  elected  by  the  people,  but  they  meet  together  and  elect 
the  Commandant-General  who  is  the  supreme  military  officer  of  the 
State. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Transvaal  which  is  a  much  longer  document 
and  drawn  up  with  much  less  definiteness  and  discrimination,  presents 
many  points  of  resemblance  as  well  as  contrast  to  that  of  the  Orange 
Free  State.  There  is  indeed  considerable  dispute  amongst  students  of 
constitutional  law  as  to  whether  the  so-called  "Grondwet"  or  funda- 
mental Constitution  of  the  Transvaal  is  to  be  viewed  as  a  fundamental 
instrument  or  not ;  and  further  as  to  whether  it  is  a  rigid  Constitution, 
one,  that  is,  whose  provisions  can  only  be  altered  under  defined  and  diffi- 
cult conditions,  as  is  the  case  with  the  Orange  Free  State,  or  whether 
it  is  open  to  continuous  alteration  by  successive  acts  of  the  Legislature. 
It  is  further  a  disputed  point  as  to  how  far  these  acts  of  the  Legislature 
are  liable  to  be  pronounced  illegal  and  inoperative  by  the  supreme  judi- 
ciary of  the  land.  As  a  matter  of  fact  President  Kruger  has  in  recent 


196  THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

years  decided  the  matter  by  securing  that  even  bare  resolutions  of  the 
Raad  shall  have  the  effect  of  law  and  shall  be  above  criticism  from  the 
highest  judge  in  the  land!  This  manifestly  puts  enormous  power  first 
into  the  hands  of  the  Legislature  and  second  into  the  hands  of  the 
President.  The  Legislature  has,  if  this  be  true,  no  check  whatsoever 
upon  its  methods  of  legislation.  Mr.  Bryce  strives  to  prove  that  the 
Constitution  contains  the  assumption  within  it  that  the  voice  of  the 
people  shall  be  consulted  upon  every  important  matter  of  legislation, 
except  when  urgency  can  be  proved,  and  that  in  this  way  it  was  intended 
to  limit  the  power  of  the  Legislature.  But  in  practice,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  vague  underlying  assumption  which  Mr.  Bryce  refers  to  has  not  been 
powerful  enough  to  check  the  forces  which  were  driving  the  Volksraad 
toward  the  assumption  of  a  power  in  the  land  which  is  controlled  by 
no  law  and  by  appeal  to  no  authority  other  than  itself.  Of  course  this 
power  can  only  be  exercised  within  certain  limits,  since  after  all  the 
members  of  the  Raad  are  only  eligible  for  two  years  and  half  of  them 
retire  annually.  Nevertheless  even  this  check  depends  for  its  operation 
upon  the  success  with  which  the  popular  mind  has  been  instructed  and 
aroused  against  any  determined  policy  of  the  Volksraad. 

The  number  of  members  in  this  Volksraad  has  varied  in  recent  years, 
but  they  are  much  smaller  than  in  the  case  of  the  Orange  Free  State, 
numbering  only  about  24.  Besides  the  President  who  is  appointed  for 
five  years,  the  people  publicly  and  directly  elect  the  Commandant-Gen- 
eral. While  for  a  long  time  the  latter  appointment  was  understood  to 
be  unlimited  in  time  the  practice  has  latterly  been  to  hold  such  an  elec- 
tion every  ten  years.  The  President  of  the  Transvaal,  like  his  brother 
in  the  Orange  Free  State,  may  speak  in  the  Raad  but  not  vote.  He  may 
criticise  by  speech  every  act  of  the  Legislature,  and  even  suggest  both 
policy  and  laws  to  them;  he  must  annually  visit  all  the  centers  of  popu- 
lation in  the  country  and  there  meet  with  all  wrho  desire  to  express  their 
wishes  on  local  or  state  affairs  to  him.  He  is  assisted  by  a  council  con- 
sisting of  four  men,  the  Government  Secretary,  the  Commandant-Gen- 
eral and  two  others,  the  latter  as  well  as  the  first  being  chosen  and  ap- 
pointed by  the  Raad  itself. 

Mr.  Bryce  asserts  that  the  military  organization  when  studied  (in 
1896)  indicates  the  highly  militant  character  of  the  Republic.  Mr. 


THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  197 

Bryce  might  well  have  laid  more  emphasis  upon  the  fact  that  the  only 
real  and  effective  organization  of  the  Transvaal  has  been  that  which 
had  wrar  for  its  purpose  and  active  war  for  its  motive.  There  was  no 
real  administration  of  education  or  religion  or  public  works.  Even  the 
judicial  system  remained  inchoate,  inasmuch  as  there  were  few  appeals 
to  law,  and  these  were  usually  settled  in  a  rough  and  ready  manner  by 
the  Veldt  Cornet.  The  Boers  entered  the  Transvaal  fighting,  they  ex- 
tended their  territory  year  by  year  through  constant  fighting  on  one 
excuse  or  another  with  neighboring  native  tribes.  It  can  be  said  that 
hardly  one  year  from  1852  to  1877  can  be  named  in  which  at  some  point 
or  another  the  Boers  have  not  been  "punishing"  a  native  tribe  and 
"fining"  them  by  taking  all  their  valuable  land  and  many  hundreds,  even 
thousands,  of  their  cattle.  These  facts  explain  what  Mr.  Bryce  calls  the 
"highly  militant"  character  of  the  Republic.  The  judiciaries  are  elected 
and  are  said  to  be  free  and  independent  of  the  President.  In  recent 
years  there  has  been  established  a  Supreme  Court,  consisting  of  a  Chief 
Justice  and  four  judges.  By  a  well-known  act  of  President  Kruger's, 
in  which  he  was  supported  by  the  Eaad,  it  became  an  accepted  principle 
of  procedure  in  the  Transvaal  that  the  Supreme  Court  should  itself  be 
subject  to  the  decisions  and  findings  of  the  Raad.  This  means  that  the 
Raad  cannot  pass  any  law,  however  directly  contradicted  by  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  which  can  be  annulled  by  the  judiciary. 
The  Boers  have  never  liked  taxes,  and  especially  have  resented  from 
first  to  last  attempts  to  make  them  pay  direct  taxes.  The  revenue  is 
raised  chiefly  by  payments  for  fees  and  licenses  and  from  a  tax  on  land 
which  is  not  allowed  to  exceed  $40. 

On  two  matters  of  importance  the  language  of  Mr.  Bryce  himself 
must  be  used:  "Although  enacted  by  and  for  a  pure  democracy,  it  (the 
Constitution)  is  based  on  inequality — inequality  of  whites  and  blacks, 
inequality  of  religious  creeds.  Not  only  is  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
declared  to  be  established  and  endowed  by  the  State,  but  the  Roman 
Catholic  Churches  are  forbidden  to  exist,  and  no  Roman  Catholic  nor 
Jew  nor  Protestant  of  any  other  than  the  Dutch  Reform  Church  is  eligi- 
ble to  the  Presidency,  or  to  membership  of  the  legislative  or  executive 
councils.  Some  of  these  restrictions  have  now  been  removed.  But  the 
door  is  barred  as  firmly  as  ever  against  persons  of  color.  No  one  whose 


198  THE   TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

father  or  mother  belongs  to  any  native  race,  up  to  and  including  the 
fourth  generation,  can  obtain  civic  rights  or  hold  land." 

"They  (the  farmers)  had  provided  a  method  whereby  the  nation  would 
always  have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  its  opinion  upon  legislation, 
namely,  the  provision  that  the  people  should  have  a  period  of  three 
months  within  which  to  intimate  to  the  Volksraad  their  views  on  any 
proposed  law,  it  being  assumed  that  the  Volksraad  would  obey  any  such 
intimation,  although  no  means  is  provided  for  securing  that  it  would  do 
so.  This  provision  has  given  rise  to  a  curious  question  with  reference 
to  those  laws  which  admit  of  no  delay  (§  12).  Now  the  Volksraad 
has  in  fact  neglected  the  general  provision  and,  instead  of  allowing  the 
three  months'  period,  has  frequently  hastily  passed  enactments  upon 
which  the  people  had  no  opportunity  of  expressing  their  opinion.  Such 
enactments,  which  have  in  some  instances  purported  to  alter  parts  of 
the  Grondwet  itself,  are  called  Resolutions,  as  opposed  to  lawrs;  and 
when  opposition  has  been  taken  to  this  mode  of  legislation,  these  Reso- 
lutions seem  to  have  been  usually  justified  on  the  ground  of  urgency, 
although  in  fact  many  of  them,  though  important,  were  by  no  means 
urgent.  They  have  been  treated  as  equally  binding  with  laws  passed 
in  accordance  with  the  provision  of  the  Grondwet  (but  Article  XII  has 
never  been  altered);  and  it  is  only  recently  that  their  validity  has  been 
seriously  questioned  in  the  courts."  The  importance  of  this  criticism  of 
Mr.  Bryce  will  present  itself  to  those  who  elsewhere  read  any  account 
of  the  manner  in  which  the  affairs  of  the  Outlanders  have  been  dealt 
with  by  means  of  Resolutions  passed  in  this  way,  under  the  excuse  of 
urgency,  by  the  Volksraad. 

For  some  years  now  there  has  existed  what  is  called  the  Second 
Volksraad  which  is  not  provided  for  in  the  Constitution.  This  Second 
Chamber  was  created  by  President  Kruger  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
the  desires  of  the  Outlanders.  Its  special  function  is  supposed  to  be  the 
regulation  of  mining  operations.  The  members  are  chosen  by  those 
who  after  two  years'  residence  in  the  country  have  become  naturalized, 
and  they  may  themselves  become  eligible  for  membership  therein.  The 
value  of  this  Chamber  is  practically  nil,  for  none  of  its  legislative  acts 
can  take  effect  until  they  have  been  approved  by  the  First  Volksraad, 
while  on  the  other  hand  the  latter  House  may  pass  regulations  dealing 


THE  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  199 

with  those  very  affairs  professedly  committed  to  the  care  of  the  Second 
House,  and  such  acts  of  the  First  House  take  effect  ^s  laws  without  be- 
ing submitted  for.  the  approval  of  the  Second  House! 

Mr.  Bryce  attaches  a  deserved  significance  to  Article  VI  in  the  Con- 
stitution which  declares  that  the  territory  of  the  Transvaal  is  open  to 
every  stranger  who  submits  himself  to  the  laws  and  declares  that  all 
persons  within  that  territory  are  equally  entitled  to  the  protection  of 
person  and  property.  When  therefore  it  is  asserted,  as  occasionally  is 
done  by  those  who  are  not  aware  of  the  facts,  that  the  Boers  from  the 
beginning  desired  a  country  of  their  own,  it  must  be  remembered,— 
First,  that  they  desired  a  country  with  an  abundant  supply  of  native 
labor  while  the  Constitution  affirms  that  "The  people  will  not  tolerate 
equality  between  colored  and  white  inhabitants,  either  in  Church  or  in 
State," — and  Second,  that  the  same  Constitution  from  the  beginning  of 
the  history  of  the  Kepublic  professed  the  desire  of  the  Boers  for  the 
immigration  of  white  settlers  into  their  country. 


CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

SOME  of  the  most  interesting  and  at  the  same  time  most  pressing 
problems  in  South  African  politics  arise  in  connection  with  the 
native  tribes.  In  India  the  natives  have  filled  the  country  so 
completely  that  even  although  the  climate  had  suited  Europeans  there 
would  have  been  no  room  for  them  to  settle  as  colonists.  In  Australia 
and  in  North  America  the  aborigines  were  so  few  and  the  unoccu- 
pied country  so  enormous  that  the  influx  of  Europeans  resulted  .in 
the  disappearance  of  the  natives  from  competition  either  through  actual 
slaughter  or  through  their  confinement  to  definite  and  limited  localities. 
In  South  Africa  on  the  other  hand  the  native  population  is  numer- 
ous. Some  of  the  tribes  have  manifested  a  war-like  character  which 
enables  them  to  contest,  often  successfully,  with  the  advancing  tide  of 
whites  for  ownership  of  the  soil.  After  the  early  period  of  Euro- 
pean history  in  South  Africa  it  looked,  indeed,  as  if  the  extermina- 
tion policy  of  Australia  might  be  carried  out  here  also.  But  when  the 
Kaffirs  and  the  Zulus  were  met  and  when  the  more  enlightened  con- 
science of  the  18th  and  19th  centuries  was  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
native  tribes  events  changed  their  color. 

The  result  of  European  occupation  of  South  Africa  has  then 
taken  this  peculiar  form.  There  are  large  regions  where  European 
colonies  have  been  founded  in  a  climate  which  is  delightful  and 
suits  the  European  excellently.  The  presence  of  a  strong  European 
government  has  established  such  order  among  the  natives  as  to  put 
an  end  to  all  mutual  wars,  to  free  them  from  the  ravages  of  epidemic 
disease  and  hence  to  lead  to  the  rapid  increase  of  the  native  popula- 
tion. For  long  it  was  taken  for  granted  in  Europe  that  the  natives 
in  South  Africa  were  decreasing  in  numbers  and  must  at  last  dis- 
appear in  the  presence  of  the  Europeans,  but  about  the  year 

1871,  and  from  thence  on,  investigations  were  carried  out  which  estab- 

200 


THE  NATIVE  RACES.  201 

lished  the  fact  that  the  native  populations  are  growing  at  a  very  great 
rate.  At  present  the  population  is  estimated  variously  at  from  2,500,- 
000  to  3,000,000  natives  of  various  nations  and  tribes. 

The  native  tribes  of  South  Africa  are  by  ethnologists  divided  into 
two  great  families.  The  first  has  generally  been  called  the  Gariepine, 
which  includes  the  Bushmen,  Hottentots  and  Korannas.  The  second 
is  called  the  Bantu  and  comprises  by  far  the  largest  number  of  South 
African  natives. 

SECTION    I.      THE    GARIEPINE    RACES. 

It  was  members  of  the  Gariepine  family  who  were  first  met  by  the 
Dutch  when  they  settled  at  the  Cape.  The  tribes  who  there  herded 
their  cattle  and  lived  a  nomadic  life  were  the  Hottentots,  but  amongst 
the  mountains  behind  them  and  on  the  high  plateau  lands  beyond  the 
mountains  the  Bushmen  were  also  to  be  met.  The  Hottentots  un- 
doubtedly represented  a  mixture  of  races,  whereas  the  Bushmen  appear 
to  have  preserved  the  original  type  of  the  family  in  their  features 
and  their  language.  The  set  of  their  eyes  and  general  form  of  their 
face  have  from  the  first  reminded  many  travelers  of  the  Chinese  race, 
and  in  fact  by  the  early  Dutch  sailors  they  were  spoken  of  as  China- 
men. For  the  most  part  they  are  found  living  high  up  in  the  moun- 
tain regions  or  far  out  on  the  borders  of  the  desert,  where  they  wan- 
der about  in  small  family  groups  in  search  of  their  scanty  sustenance. 
Their  existence  was  miserable  in  the  extreme.  They  possessed  no 
cattle,  they  cultivated  no  gardens,  yet  they  occupied  vast  waste  regions 
which  afterwards  were  developed  by  the  Europeans  into  fine  pasture 
and  produce  lands.  These  Bushmen  lived  by  the  chase  and  when  ani- 
mals could  not  be  procured  they  took  to  hunting  for  roots  in  the  soil, 
and  for  wild  fruits.  In  their  search  alike  for  fruits  under  ground 
and  for  game  they  acquired  what  almost  seems  like  preternatural  skill. 
They  could  catch  the  game  only  by  laying  traps  for  them,  which  gener- 
ally took  the  form  of  a  hole  in  the  ground  made  on  some  frequented  game 
track  and  covered  carefully  over  with  sticks  and  soil,  or  by  shooting 
them  with  little  poisoned  arrows.  They  could,  of  course,  get  near 
enough  to  use  their  bows  only  by  the  most  patient  and  clever  stalk- 
ing, in  which  they  became  marvelous  adepts.  To  creep  along  the 


202  THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

ground  for  hundreds  of  yards  where  grass  was  sparse  and  short  and 
bushes  were  few,  or  even  to  move  cautiously  along  hidden  behind  a 
large  bunch  of  grass  which  they  held  in  front  of  them  and  which 
excited  the  curiosity  of  their  prey,  or  to  wait  behind  a  rock  or  a  bush 
hour  after  hour  in  the  hot  sun  for  the  time  when  some  wild  animal 
should  approach  their  drinking  place — these  were  methods  of  hunt- 
ing wrhich  required  almost  infinite  patience  and  extraordinary  skill. 

But  to  the  European  the  Bushman  presented  a  still  more  striking 
feature  when  it  came  to  hunting  for  roots.  One  has  seen  them  with 
keen,  little,  half-shut  eyes  scanning  the  ground  till  they  found  a  minute 
leaf  or  plant  in  the  sandy  soil  which  they  suddenly  attacked  with  a 
bit  of  stick  or  a  European  knife  or  even  with  their  hardy  little  fingers. 
They  would  dig  round  that  little  leaf,  until  grasping  something  hid- 
den beneath  the  sand  they  pulled  forth  a  root  which  was  immediately 
devoured  with  unconcealed  gusto.  It  is  interesting  to  watch  the  per- 
formance, but  one  can  hardly  help  shuddering  at  the  thought  of  being 
dependent  for  any  great  share  of  one's  daily  subsistence  upon  a  search 
and  a  discovery  of  that  kind. 

These  Bushmen  have  one  of  the  strangest  languages  on  the  wide 
earth.  It  is  far-famed  as  the  "click"  language.  It  has  been  said  that 
far  more  than  half  of  the  syllables  of  their  language  begin  with  a 
click.  Clicks  are  not  confined  to  the  Bushmen  only,  nor  to  the  lan- 
guages of  the  Gariepine  family  only.  They  are  found,  though  rarely, 
in  the  languages  of  some  Bantu  tribes,  as  in  Kaffir  and  Zulu.  The 
click  is  produced  by  striking  the  tongue  against  the  teeth  or  against 
the  side  of  the  mouth  in  a  peculiar  way.  Some  people  who  speak 
English  use  one  at  any  rate  when  uttering  a  repeated  sound  somewhat 
like  "ts"  blended  into  one  as  an  exclamation  of  surprise.  Another  click 
occurs  with  some  drivers  of  horses  when  striking  the  side  of  the  tongue 
against  the  cheek;  that  produces  a  sharp  sound  which  printed 
in  Zulu  is  represented  by  the  letter  X.  These  Bushmen  build  for 
themselves  the  rudest  of  all  the  different  kinds  of  huts  found  in  South 
Africa.  Very  often  they  simply  dig  a  hole  in  the  ground;  if  they  live 
in  a  mountainous  region  they  probably  live  in  a  cave. 

In  Bechuanaland  they  probably  are  slaves  of  some  chief  or  head  man 
in  a  Bechuana  tribe.  Their  slavery  amounts  simply  to  this,  that  tbey 


THE  NATIVE  RACES.  203 

are  obliged  to  surrender  to  their  master  the  skins  of  all  the  animals  they 
kill  in  the  chase.  They  expect  his  visits  at  certain  periods  of  the  year 
and  generally  strive  to  have  ready  for  him  sufficient  spoils  from  their 
hardy  life  to  meet  his  demands.  On  the  whole  they  are  not  cruelly 
treated  by  their  masters,  though  naturally  they  do  not  love  them  and 
strive,  if  possible,  especially  if  their  hunt  has  not  been  good,  to  be  out  of 
the  way  when  they  approach.  There  used  to  be  a  current  belief  among 
the  Bechuanas  that  if  a  Bushman  suddenly  saw  a  representative  of  his 
master's  tribe  traveling  in  the  distance  and  knew  that  he  could  not 
escape  by  running,  he  would  stand  on  his  head,  spread  his  feet  and 
so  hold  himself  like  the  dried  stump  of  a  tree,  black  and  motionless, 
until  they  disappeared.  Whether  true  or  not  this  piece  of  gossip  about 
their  tactics  is  an  evidence  of  the  cunning  and  endurance  attributed 
to  them  among  the  Bechuanas.  When  the  Bechuana  master  arrives 
at  the  little  huts  of  his  vassals  he  takes  possession  both  of  the  huts 
and  of  all  the  skins  which  they  have  collected.  He  generally  settles 
down  for  a  short  period  of  hunting.  Every  day  now  the  Bushman  with 
his  spear  and  bow  and  arrows  and  with  the  dogs,  if  they  possess  any, 
and  the  master  with  his  gun,  sally  forth  in  search  of  game.  "Woe 
betide  the  Bushman  should  it  be  found  that  he  has  hidden  away  part 
of  the  produce,  or  that  instead  of  keeping  the  skins  for  his  master 
he  has  ventured  to  make  with  some  of  them  a  mantle  for  himself  or 
his  wife." 

As  to  religion  it  has  been  pointed  out  by  one  who  watched  them 
as  closely  as  any  European  can,  that  they  were  probably  the  most 
superstitious  race  in  South  Africa.  The  Bushman  is  close  to  a  uni- 
versal power  every  day  of  his  life.  Every  change  of  weather  affects 
him  more  severely  than  it  affects  those  who  live  in  the  towns  and 
villages.  He  has  come  to  depend  very  largely  upon  the  use  of  charms 
and  dice,  the  latter  of  which  he  carries  on  a  string  around  his  neck. 
These  bits  of  bone  he  will  acknowledge  are  only  bone  and  he  will  sell 
them  to  you  for  a  few  beads,  but  he  will  speedily  make  another  set 
and  use  them  again  as  his  means  of  discovering  the  intentions  of  the 
powers  above.  These  dice  and  charms  are  undoubtedly  viewed  by  him 
as  in  some  way  channels  for  knowledge  of  the  supernatural.  The  Bush- 
men do  not  consider  the  bits  of  ivory  or  bone  in  their  hands  as  a  god, 


204  THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

but  in  some  way  they  believe  that  through  these  an  unseen  power  that 
rules  over  their  daily  fortunes  can  be  certainly  questioned. 

The  Bushmen  have  frequently  been  employed  by  travelers  in  South 
Africa  as  guides  and  within  the  range  of  the  country  which  each  set  of 
Bushmen  calls  his  country  no  one  could  be  found  more  fitted  to  act  in 
this  capacity.  Strangers  have  told  not  only  of  their  marvelous  clever- 
ness as  guides,  but  of  their  real  kindness  when  travelers  were  deter- 
mined to  take  the  wrong  road  or  in  ignorance  were  moving  toward  some 
disaster. 

SECTION  II.  THE  BANTU  RACE. 

The  second  group  of  South  African  peoples  is  known  as  the  Bantu 
race  and  it  includes  by  far  the  largest  number  of  South  African 
tribes.  Amongst  themselves  they  vary  considerably  in  appear- 
ance, language  and  custom,  but  not  so  much  as  they  vary  from  the 
other  great  South  African  race.  They  include  all  the  Zulu  tribes,  the 
so-called  Kaffir  tribes  of  Cape  Colony,  the  Basutos,  the  Bechuanas  and 
others.  During  the  course  of  this  century  they  have  become  divided  into 
two  classes,  the  first  consisting  of  those  tribes  which  are  organized  upon 
a  military  basis,  known  generally  as  Zulu  tribes,  and  those  in  which  the 
military  S3rstem  is  subordinate  to  the  civil. 

It  appears  that  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  the  Zulus  were 
living  much  as  their  neighbors  did,  wTith  their .  gardens  and  cattle, 
and  were  not  distinguished  above  them  for  prowess  in  war  or  for  tribal 
ambition;  their  distinctive  history  begins  with  the  career  of  Chaka.  He, 
having  learned  some  of  the  principles  of  a  thorough  military  organiza- 
tion, set  to  work  to  practise  them  among  his  own  people.  By  drilling 
them  in  regiments,  teaching  them  some  simple  tactics,  and  arming  them 
with  a  short  spear,  he  speedily  taught  them  to  overcome  all  other  sur- 
rounding peoples.  With  the  courage  partly  born  of  success,  he  reorgan- 
ized the  civil  life  of  the  community,  abolished  some  of  the  most  ancient 
and  cherished  customs  of  his  race,  altered  many  others  in  a  most  serious 
way,  with  the  intention  of  giving  to  the  chief,  as  the  commander  of  a 
standing  army  which  comprised  every,  citizen  within  it,  supreme 
authority. 

The  principle  of  the  Chiefs  supremacy  was  carried  so  far  that  a  Zulu 


THE  NATIVE  RACES.  205 

chief  came  to  be  spoken  of  as  the  owner  of  every  person  and  everything 
within  his  realm.  One  can  see  easily  how  this  would  arise  from  the 
initial  idea  that  his  people  existed  for  the  purpose  of  war  and  that  he 
was  the  supreme  commander.  Absolute  obedience  is  the  first  requisite 
for  military  order,  and  when  the  principle  of  absolute  obedience  is  car- 
ried into  the  whole  life  of  the  soldier  as  a  citizen,  it  implies  that  all  his 
property  as  well  as  his  person,  must  be  completely  at  the  disposal  of 
his  commander.  The  question  as  to  whether  he  shall  own  land  now 
becomes  not  one  of  right,  as  with  other  Bantu  tribes  where  the  chief  must 
seek  to  allot  ground  to  every  member  of  his  tribe,  but  of  permission.  If 
he  owns  cattle  they  are  a  reward  given  to  him  and  yet  liable  to  be  with- 
drawn at  the  king's  will ;  if  he  receives  a  wife  or  wives  and  is  recognized 
as  a  married  man,  this,  again,  is  a  reward  of  military  prowess  and  indi- 
cates the  dignity  which  he  has  attained  in  the  eyes  of  his  king.  Thus 
not  only  every  man  because  he  is  a  soldier,  but  every  woman  and  every 
foot  of  land,  and  every  domestic  animal,  came  to  be  spoken  of  among  the 
Zulus  as  the  king's  property. 

Such  a  system  resulted,  of  course,  in  extinguishing  the  deeper  affec- 
tion; family  life  was  uprooted.  Even  those  affections  which  twrined 
round  the  sense  of  exclusive  personal  possession  found  no  support  and 
no  energy  in  a  system  of  arbitrary  and  reversible  rewards  at  the  hands 
of  an  inscrutable  chief.  Where  the  affections  were  thus  ruthlessly  tram- 
pled out,  cruelty  took  their  place.  The  tribe  existed  for  war;  it  main- 
tained its  strength  by  constant  war.  Its  members  could  not  prove  them- 
selves worthy  members  unless  they  had  washed  their  spears  in  blood. 
When  the  youths  were  admitted  to  manhood  and  enrolled  as  soldiers, 
their  first  ambition  was  to  slay  some  human  being.  In  Matabeleland  we 
are  told  that  they  were  impatient  until  their  chief  had  ordered  them  to 
attack  some  village  and  bring  the  spoils  of  cattle  and  children  to  the 
king.  If  they  were  successful  in  their  first  raid  the  young  Zulus  returned 
rejoicing  to  the  kraal  and  received  the  acclamation  of  the  older  warriors. 
The  sweetest  praise  in  life  was  when  they  heard  the  heroes  of  many  years 
say,  "Now,  indeed,  you  are  a  man."  If,  by  some  mischance,  they  were 
foiled  in  their  raid,  if  the  inhabitants  having  been  warned  had  fled  or 
armed  themselves  and  offered  a  successful  resistance,  the  baffled  regi- 
ments of  young  warriors  returned  ashamed  to  spend  months  in  disgrace. 


THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

As  they  sat  waiting  for  their  portion  of  meat  at  their  daily  meal  an  eldei* 
warrior  might  throw  the  lump  of  beef  to  them  with  mere  contempt,  allow- 
ing it  to  fall  in  the  dust  as  if  the  recipient  were  a  dog. 

Not  only  did  the  force  of  military  ambitions  make  war  necessary, 
it  was  necessary  also  on  economic  grounds;  for  these  warlike  tribes 
depended  very  largely  upon  the  cattle  and  the  corn  which  they  could 
carry  off  in  their  raids  upon  the  humbler  and  more  diligent  tribes  around 
them.  They  depended  also  for  the  maintenance  of  their  power  upon 
bringing  into  their  tribal  life  the  young  boys  whom  they  could  capture. 
These  were  brought  up  as  members,  of  the  tribe  and  trained  to  become 
soldiers  in  their  turn.  Thus  the  entire  tribal  organization  of  these  Zulu 
peoples  could  only  be  maintained  by  means  of  the  unceasing  prosecution 
of  war.  The  Zulu  war  of  1878  arose  from  the  effort  of  the  British  to 
break  down  this  system. 

It  is  held  by  all  intelligent  observers  of  the  situation  to  have  been 
most  remarkable  that  Cetywayo  had  succeeded  in  restraining  his  people 
from  war  for  so  many  years.  It  must  always  remain  a  mystery  how  it 
was  that  they  did  not  break  loose  at  an  earlier  date  and  fall  upon  sur- 
rounding communities,  whether  of  blacks  or  whites,  in  defiance  of  the 
known  wishes  of  the  British  Government.  These  wishes,  as  expressed 
through  the  Governor  of  Natal,  were  the  reasons  wThich  Cetywayo  gave  to 
his  people  when  stilling  their  ambitions  and  promising  them  time  after 
time  an  early  opportunity  for  enjoying  the  luxury  of  bloodshed.  It  was 
this  system  which  nearly  twenty  years  later  confronted  the  British 
South  African  Company  in  Matabeleland.  There  Lobengula  found  him- 
self unable  to  do  what  Cetywayo  so  long  had  done.  His  young  and  ardent 
warriors  could  not  be  restrained,  and  compelled  him  to  give  assent  to 
their  desire  for  the  continuance  of  their  annual  raids  upon  the  inoffen- 
sive and  undefended  Mashonas.  Quite  evidently,  then,  no  progress  could 
have  been  made  in  the  uplifting  of  native  races  or  in  the  colonizing  of 
unoccupied  territories  by  whites,  in  those  regions  which  were  devastated 
or  threatened  with  devastation  by  these  ruthless  military  tribes. 

The  Zulus  whom  Chaka  organized  gave  rise  to  several  branches.  Two 
of  these  have  become  famous.  One  is  known  as  the  Angoni,  who  pressed 
steadily  northwards  until  they  had  even  crossed  the  Zambesi  and  made 
their  name  a  terror  in  the  region  around  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Tan- 


THE  NATIVE  RACES.  207 

ganyika.  The  next  great  movement  was  that  created  by  Moselekatse, 
whose  tribe  swept  its  terrible  way  northwards  and  became  known  as 
the  Matabele  tribe,  controlling  a  large  territory  between  the  Limpopo 
river  and  the  Zambesi. 

Among  the  Bantu  tribes,  perhaps  the  most  interesting  feature  of  so- 
cial organization  is  that  which  concerns  the  ownership  of  land.  The  terri- 
tory which  they  call  their  own  belongs  to  the  tribe,  and  none  of  that 
territory  can  by  tribal  law  become  the  absolute  property  of  any  individ- 
ual. The  chief  is  the  ultimate  judge  in  all  matters  concerning  the  allot- 
ment of  the  land,  and  is  himself  entitled  to  the  use  of  a  larger  share  than 
any  one  else  in  the  tribe;  this  is  due  to  his  position  and  his  services.  Yet 
he  simply  has  the  use  of  this  land  which  he  is  by  public  consent  allowed 
to  call  his  own.  On  his  death  his  successor  may  desire  to  occupy  some 
other  portion  of  the  territory  with  his  herds  of  cattle  or  for  his  gardens, 
but  in  that  case  he  will  be  expected  to  assign  the  land  used  by  his  prede- 
cessor to  other  members  of  the  tribe.  Every  one  to  whom  land  is  allotted 
is  expected  to  use  it,  and  as  long  as  he  uses  it  the  tribe  expects  that  he 
will  be  protected  in  his  right  there.  Public  sentiment  would  not  approve 
of  a  chief,  say  in  Bechuanaland,  removing  a  man  from  his  lands  arbi- 
trarily without  good  cause  shown.  The  sense  of  insecurity  which  this 
would  create  would  be  resented  by  the  entire  tribe. 

When  these  principles  are  thoroughly  grasped  one  can  imagine  the 
indignation  with  which  native  tribes  have  seen  white  men,  whether  Boers 
or  English,  enter  their  country  and  on  the  strength  of  certain  transac- 
tions with  their  chief  lay  claim  to  absolute  ownership  of  valuable  portions 
of  their  territory.  This,  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land,  was  an  impos- 
sible arrangement,  and  if  only  both  the  Boer  and  British  Governments 
had  determined  to  deal  justly  with  these  natives  and  recognize  their 
own  laws,  until  they  were  changed  in  a  legal  manner,  much  injustice  and 
much  irritation  would  have  been  prevented. 

All  matters  connected  with  public  policy,  allotment  of  lands,  etc., 
are  dealt  with  by  the  chief  in  the  khotla,  as  the  Bechuanas  call  the  court- 
yard adjoining  the  chief's  residence.  Here  at  a  certain  hour  every  day 
he  takes  his  place  with  his  headmen  around  him  and  proceeds  to  adju- 
dicate on  all  kinds  of  complaint  which  any  of  his  people  desire  to  put 
before  him.  Witnesses  are  examined  by  himself  with  the  assistance  of 


208  THE  A'./ 77/71  RACES. 

his  headmen,  discussions  take  place  in  which  each  joins,  and  then  the 
chief  gives  his  decision,  which  is  as  a  rule  accepted  as  final.  At  times 
there  occurs  a  more  important  form  of  meeting  which  the  Bechuanas  call 
a  Pitso,  when  matters  of  public  interest,  especially  concerning  foreign 
relations  of  the  tribe,  are  discussed.  This,  in  fact,  is  an  arrangement 
not  unlike  that  of  the  early  Saxons  out  of  which  the  House  of  Commons, 
the  mother  of  the  world's  parliaments,  grew.  In  this  Pitso  there  is  an 
opportunity  for  the  display  of  oratory;  and  many  who  have  attended 
such  gatherings,  for  they  are,  as  a  rule,  free  to  all,  have  spoken  with  ad- 
miration of  the  fluency,  the  eloquence,  even  the  grace  with  which  these 
natives  deliver  their  orations.  They  get  of  course  much  excited  over 
little,  as  do  members  of  more  dignified  parliaments.  The  illustrations 
which  they  employ,  while  often  beautiful  and  clever,  are  at  other  times 
weak  or  even  foolish.  Nevertheless,  the  Pitso  affords  a  standard  of  an 
intellectual  kind  which  has  done  much  to  keep  the  life  of  these  tribes 
from  losing  all  trace  of  intellectual  interest. 

The  language  which  is  heard  on  such  occasions  is  the  ordinary  lan- 
guage of  the  people,  and  all  students  of  these  South  African  Bantu  .races 
bear  witness  to  certain  admirable  elements,  namely,  the  variety  and 
abundance  of  their  vocabulary,  as  well  as  the  richness  and  suggestiveness 
of  their  grammatical  forms.  For  musical  quality  some  of  them  have  been 
compared  with  the  sonorous  beauty  even  of  Italian.  It  is  not  without 
regret  that  one  contemplates  the  inevitable  disappearance  of  these  native 
languages.  As  the  English  language  spreads  through  South  Africa  it 
will  become  gradually  the  desire  and  ideal  of  the  natives  to  learn  English. 
In  their  schools  they  will  demand  that  they  be  taught  in  English,  and 
while  their  native  tongues  will  linger  long  in  remote  places  and  in  family 
life,  they  will  before  many  years  come  to  be  regarded  as  unnecessary 
burdens  in  the  work  of  daily  schools.  Even  those  who  speak  the  English 
language  and  are  proud  to  see  it  spread  round  the  world,  have  times  of 
regret,  when  they  remember  that  its  spread  is  at  the  cost  of  many  beauti- 
ful and  interesting  tongues. 

The  Bantu  people  while  on  the  whole  living  on  low  levels  of  moral 
life,  yet  do  recognize  the  institution  of  the  family.  The  chief  enemy  of 
the  home  has  been  the  practice  of  polygamy;  but  inasmuch  as  it  has  been 
the  custom  for  every  man  to  pay  for  his  wife,  and,  of  course,  the  more 


AS 
& 


o  a 

•35 


a  <a 

*>.2 
a"3 
2-fl 
•°* 


<u 


35 


38 

O  a) 

P  m 
o)  03 


W 


UJ 


O  £ 

2f  60« 

a  o  > 

S  2s 

ri  15 

»—  ^  ^  t 


u*  -^^  *r 

2^: 

ft     a 

its 

»  o 

•w  t.  fe 
O  <»  ^ 

«|s 

^§3 

S*g 

l§8 

8613 

§»3 

"as 

flu 

.28 

«  o  cs 

i:<o" 
MS5 

«43 

&*    *t->     4-> 

g  OJ3 
-*->  U) 
OXS  3 

!il 
Slf 

w4    CO 

Btfe 


H 

X 
H 

or 

o 
u. 

o 

E 
H 

3  * 

*    S9 
P 


TTTE  NATIVE  RACES.  211 

wives  the  more  expense,  a  limit  has  been  placed  on  this  practice  by  the 
comparative  poverty  of  the  people.  Only  the  chief  and  a  few  of  the  head- 
men have  really  been  able  to  forsake  monogamy,  but  with  them  custom 
and  a  sense  of  dignity  practically  made  it  obligatory  that  they  should 
have  more  than  one  wife.  The  remarkable  story  is  told  elsewhere  of  the 
fight  which  the  young  chief  Khama  was  forced  to  engage  in  with  his 
father,  who  attempted  to  compel  his  obedience  to  this  tribal  law. 

Justice  is,  of  course,  dealt  with  in  a  summary  fashion,  the  chief  modes 
of  punishment  being  fines  which  are  especially  imposed  where  cattle  are 
abundant  and  have  become  a  kind  of  medium  of  exchange,  execution  by 
spearing  for  graver  offenses,  expulsion  from  the  tribe,  and  sometimes 
some  form  of  corporal  punishment.  Much,  of  course,  depends  upon  the 
honor  of  the  chief,  who  may  become  a  persecutor  of  those  who  incur  his 
personal  dislike  and  so  may  inflict  great  suffering  upon  them.  Never- 
theless public  opinion  puts  a  restriction  upon  any  such  tendencies  to 
manifest  and  persistent  injustice;  and  cases  are  known  where  a  tribe, 
having  at  last  become  embittered  against  a  plotting  and  cruel  chief,  have 
driven  him  away. 

Where  fines  for  criminal  offences  are  imposed  the  property  passes  to 
the  chief.  In  civil  cases  the  fine  which  is  imposed  goes  to  the  party 
aggrieved,  who,  however,  like  the  plaintiff,  in  civilized  lands,  is  expected 
to  fee  those  who  have  acted  as  lawyers  in  his  case.  These  customs,  no 
doubt,  present  many  temptations  to  greedy  chiefs,  with  whom  the  pros- 
pect of  personal  gain  does  interfere  often  with  their  honorable  discharge 
of  judicial  functions.  Theft  is  punished  with  considerable  severity  in 
the  first  place  by  means  of  fines ;  but  where  a  man  shows  himself  invet- 
erately  given  to  theft  he  will  sometimes  find  himself  punished  in  a  more 
dreadful  fashion,  having  his  hand  thrust  into  fire  or  being  in  some  other 
way  mutilated  so  that  he  henceforth  carries  in  his  very  person  the  terrific 
retribution  and  reminder  of  his  crime. 

In  religious  matters  the  Bantu  peoples  present  many  points  of  in- 
terest. They  of  course  believe  in  supernatural  powers,  concerning  whom, 
however,  their  doctrines  are  indistinct  and  confused.  These  supernatu- 
ral powers  manifest  themselves  in  the  use  of  charms,  in  the  significance 
of  portents,  such  as  the  cawing  of  a  crow  on  the  roof  of  a  hut,  or  the 
casting  of  a  man's  shadow  upon  another  who  is  asleep,  as  well  as  in  the 


212  THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

use  of  enchanted  medicines,  the  burning  of  various  substances  accom- 
panied with  the  utterance  of  incantations  by  a  "medicine  man."  The 
Bantu  people  also  believe  in  and  practice  rain-making,  which  in  most 
parts  of  South  Africa  is  found  to  be  a  very  necessary  process,  if  not  always 
successful.  They  do  not  belong  to  the  races  that  have  a  sacrificial  system 
or  elaborate  forms  of  public  worship.  They  have  no  idols  and  practically 
no  habits  of  prayer;  yet  they  believe  in  prayer,  and  some  observant 
Europeans  have  found  that  certain  of  them  before  entering  upon  an  im- 
portant hunt  will  step  aside  alone  and  speak  to  Morimo,  the  great  god,  im- 
ploring a  blessing  upon  their  undertaking.  This  Morinio  appears  not  to  be 
defined  by  them  either  as  a  spirit  or  an  ancestor  or  an  animal;  he  is 
simply  the  great  being  to  whom  they  leave  all  things,  the  distant  and 
chief  god  of  whom  they  speak  but  seldom,  yet  who  is  acknowledged  by 
them  as  above  all  other  subjects  of  reverence  and  fear  and  worship.  They 
do  pray  to  their  ancestors,  crying  aloud  to  them  by  name  and  pleading 
for  their  aid  in  some  distress  or  danger. 

One  peculiarity  of  the  Bantu  tribes  has  never  yet  been  fully  described 
while  it  ought  to  prove  of  considerable  importance  to  students  of  South 
African  native  religions.  That  is  the  curious  relic  of  totem  worship 
which  is  found  among  them.  By  a  totem  is  understood  a  sacred  animal 
which  a  family  or  tribe  will  treat  as  in  some  sense  having  divine  or  super- 
human power  and  influence  over  their  lives  and  fortunes.  This  animal 
they  will  not  kill,  still  less  will  they  eat  it  By  some  totem  worshipers 
even  the  seeing  of  their  sacred  animal  is  considered  exceedingly  danger- 
ous. Now,  in  South  Africa,  each  of  the  Bantu  tribes  is  named  after  an 
animal  which  is  considered  sacred  and  dreadful  among  the  members  of 
that  tribe.  The  Batlaping  means  the  people  of  the  fish,  the  Bakwena 
the  people  of  the  crocodile,  the  Bamangwato  the  people  of  a  species  of 
antelope.  These  animals  will  be  spoken  of  by  members  of  these  tribes 
reluctantly  and  with  fear.  A  curious  and  yet  a  historically  significant 
fact  is  that  some  tribes  have  as  their  totem  an  animal  belonging  to  a 
region  which  that  tribe  has  not  inhabited  even  for  generations. 

The  Bantu  before  the  advent  of  the  Europeans  were  of  course  scantily 
clothed.  They  were  dependent  almost  entirely  for  clothing  and  for 
covering  at  night  upon  the  skins  of  animals.  The  art  of  tanning  and 
preserving  these  skins  was  carried  to  a  considerable  degree  of  perfection 


THE  NATIVE  RACES.  213 

by  some  of  these  tribes.  The  skin  was  first  stretched  out  with  pegs  or 
under  stones  in  the  sun  till  it  was  thoroughly  dried,  then  the  owner  of 
it  would  begin  the  prolonged  task  of  softening  it.  Some  form  of  grease 
was  rubbed  on  it  and  then  the  skin  was  rubbed  with  the  fists.  When  the 
skin  was  large  this  was  done  by  a  group  of  men  in  a  rhythmic  movement 
accompanied  by  a  curious  ejaculatory  or  grunting  sing-song,  which  could 
be  heard  a  considerable  way  off.  When  the  skin  had  thus  been  thor- 
oughly cured  and  softened,  it  was  then  gone  over  with  needle  and  thread, 
the  thread  usually  consisting  of  sinew  from  the  leg  of  an  animal.  The 
sewing  was  sometimes  directed  in  the  case  of  a  large  skin  entirely  to  the 
patching  of  the  holes  made  in  the  killing  and  skinning  of  the  animal. 
Very  beautiful  rugs  were  also  made  by  sewing  together  a  number  of  skins 
of  smaller  animals.  The  needle  used  was  without  an  eye,  each  stitch 
being  completed  when  the  hole  had  been  made  and  then  the  thread 
passed  through  with  a  separate  effort,  somewhat  as  the  shoemaker  works. 
Many  of  these  skins  when  made  up  in  this  way  were  very  handsome  and 
lasted  a  very  long  time. 

Most  of  the  Bantu  people  depend  for  their  living  partly  on  cattle  and 
partly  on  their  gardens.  In  these  gardens  they  grow  some  smaller  grains, 
but  in  most  of  them  they  also  grow  the  Indian  corn  which  at  some  un- 
known period  was  introduced  into  South  Africa  and  spread  rapidly  from 
region  to  region.  It  forms  now  one  of  the  staple  foods  of  native  tribes  and 
is  called  by  all  Europeans  in  South  Africa  "mealies." 

The  children  of  the  Bantu  tribes  grow  up  in  their  native  state  without 
any  education,  of  course  excepting  that  which  prepares  them  for  the 
responsibilities  of  their  own  citizenship.  They  are  usually  allowed  to 
run  about  as  they  please  until  youth  is  dawning  upon  childhood.  When 
they  thus  become  men  and  women  they  are  formed  into  regiments  and 
led  out  of  the  town  in  separate  directions  to  live  in  camps,  where  they 
pass  through  various  ceremonies,  some  being  of  a  brutal  and  degrading 
nature.  They  stay. there  for  several  weeks  and  then  return  to  be  recog- 
nized as  men  and  women.  In  the  case  of  the  boys  an  essential  condition 
of  their  becoming  men  was  that  they  should  be  thoroughly  thrashed.  The 
thrashing  was,  in  some  tribes  at  any  rate,  administered  by  the  father  of 
each  boy ;  and  in  after  years  a  man  would  point  to  the  welds  on  his  back 
as  a  proof  not  only  of  the  thoroughness  with  which  he  became  a  man  but 


214  THE  NATIVE  RACES. 

of  the  affectionate  heart  of  the  father  who  had  done  his  work  so  well. 
Many -peculiar  native  customs  are,  of  course,  gradually  dropping  away, 
partly  through  the  work  of  the  missionaries,  partly  through  the  assump- 
tion of  European  dress  and  the  habits  which  European  dress  brings  with 
it.  Partly  also  are  changes  coming  through  the  loosening  of  tribal  bonds. 
As  the  natives  move  more  freely  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another 
they  feel  themselves  inevitably  cut  off  from  many  of  the  narrow  preju- 
dices, ignorant  superstitions  and  traditional  customs  wrhich  seemed  to 
them  inevitable  and  authoritative  until  travel  had  emancipated  their 
minds. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE    ANIMALS    OF    SOUTH    AFRICA. 

IN   THE   early  days  South  Africa  was  a  very  paradise  for  hunters 
and  swarmed  with  game.    The  number  and  variety  of  the  game  was 

unequaled.  That  lions  were  common,  even  down  to  the  shores  of 
Table  Bay,  we  know  upon  the  authority  of  Van  Riebeek,  who  met  one  in 
his  own  garden.  There  were  34  varieties  of  antelopes  besides  the  quagga 
and  zebra — these  roamed  about  in  great  herds  over  the  central  plateau. 
The  wanton  destruction  of  these  animals  has  resulted  in  many  districts 
becoming  destitute  of  game  and  many  varieties  becoming  extinct. 

It  is  only  in  the  far  north,  where  the  hunter  has  not  yet  been  able 
to  destroy,  that  the  South  African  fauna  has  a  chance  to  regain  and 
retain  its  old  glory. 

The  best  sport  is  to  be  obtained  in  the  Zambesi  Valley  and  in  Nyas- 
saland.  The  Kalahari  desert,  described  sometimes  as  the  natural  per- 
manent home  of  wild  game,  also  offers  attractions  to  the  hunter. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  Kalahari  should  be  made  into  a  national 
reserve.  That  such  a  reserve  is  necessary  is  evident  and  this  fact  has  been 
recognized  by  all  the  Governments.  The  Chartered  Company  in  1895, 
promised  to  enclose  a  game  preserve  of  200,000  acres  as  soon  as  their 
finances  would  permit. 

Taking  the  animals  of  South  Africa,  in  order  to  examine  into  them 
the  Lion  naturally  heads  the  list.  Amongst  others  of  the  animals  o- 
South  Africa,  the  lion,  once  plentiful  throughout  Cape  Colony,  is  no\v 
practically  extinct  south  of  the  Vaal  and  Orange  Rivers,  though  in 
Rhodesia  and  North  Transvaal  there  are  still  many  to  be  found.  It  is 
however,  quite  possible  to  traverse  the  country  and  see  no  sign  of  a  lion 

While  the  natives  maintain  that  there  are  white,  red  and  grey 
necked  lions  the  naturalist  only  admits  the  existence  of  one  species 
The  length  of  the  full-grown  South  African  lion  is  about  12  feet  from 
the  nose  to  the  tip  of  the  tail;  the  height  at  shoulder  40  inches,  and  the 
weight  400  to  500  Ibs.,  the  lioness  averages  25  per  cent  less  than  the 

815 


216  THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

male.  Many  wonderful  tales  are  told  as  to  their  enormous  strength, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  can  leap  18  paces  and  carry  off  a  large 
bullock.  The  lion  does  not  often  attack  man  unless  provoked  or 
pressed  by  hunger.  Mr.  Selous  says  that  on  a  dark  night  these  animals 
are  undoubtedly  very  bold  and  fearless.  When  hungry  the  daring  of 
the  lion  knows  no  bounds  and  it  would  be  hard  to  mention  any  part  of 
an  encampment  that  is  safe  from  their  attacks.  The  length  of  life 
attributed  to  the  lion  is  over  30  years.  Though  of  gregarious  habits, 
the  lion  is  frequenth-  encountered  alone. 

The  Leopard,  commonly  known  as  the  "tiger"  by  the  colonists  (as  is, 
also  the  cheetah),  is  still  to  be  found  over  the  whole  of  South  Africa, 
except  where  the  population  is  very  dense.  The  natural  haunt  of  the 
leopard  is  in  rocky  places,  which  fact  prevents  its  rapid  extermination. 
It  is  often  hunted  for  the  sake  of  its  beautiful  skin.  The  full-grown 
leopard  may  measure  as  much  as  9  feet  in  length,  and  is  very  dangerous, 
especially  when  wounded.  Though  its  natural  food  consists  of  baboons 
and  small  antelopes,  the  leopard  does  not  hesitate  to  replace  this  diet 
by  sheep  and  goats.  Consequently  it  is  customary  to  poison  or  other- 
wise destroy  these  "tigers"  remorselessly.  The  color  of  the  skin  and 
the  markings  vary  greatly,  some  "tigers"  being  found  with  perfectly 
black  skins,  though  belonging  to  the  same  species. 

The  Cheetah  is  smaller  than  the  leopard,  but  is  frequently  con- 
founded with  it.  It  is  not  dangerous,  except  very  rarely  when  wrounded ; 
and  for  this  reason  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  kill.  It  is  prized  for  the 
beauty  of  its  skin — black  spots  over  a  red  and  yellow  ground.  The 
cheetah  is  rapidly  being  killed  out  in  the  Southern  districts. 

There  are  also  to  be  found,  north  of  the  Orange  Kiver,  the  Serval  or 
tiger-cat  and  the  Ked  Lynx. 

The  Wild  Cat  is  larger  than  the  common  cat  and  can  be  most  danger- 
ous. Its  hair  is  coarse  and  the  tail  is  short  and  thick.  In  color  it  is 
grey  writh  black  markings.  Formerly  it  was  to  be  found  all  over  South 
Africa,  but  it  is  already  becoming  rather  rare  in  Cape  Colony  and  Natal. 
The  Reed-cat  is  much  more  common. 

Of  the  Hyaena  there  are  three  varieties,  although  two  of  these,  the 
striped  and  the  brown,  are  very  rare.  The  Spotted  Hyaena  is 
frequently  met  with  in  the  interior,  though  nearly  killed  out  of  the 


THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  217 

Cape  Colony.  In  color  it  is  a  yellow  with  darker  markings  and  a  wiry 
short  coat.  In  size  as  large  as  a  full-sized  wolf  and  a  powerful  beast, 
the  hyaena  is  not  courageous,  and  generally  prefers  to  follow  in  the 
wake  of  a  lion  or  other  braver  animal,  when  it  regales  itself  on  the  leav- 
ings. Hyaenas  are  very  troublesome  to  the  stock  farmers,  though  they 
will  rarely  attack  stock  in  camp.  They  are  therefore  killed  as  vermin, 
their  skins  being  of  no  value. 

The  Aard-wolf  resembles  the  hyaena  in  appearance,  but  is  much 
smaller  and  is  practically  toothless.  It  is  hunted  with  hounds  and  is 
to  be  found  from  the  Cape  Peninsula  to  Abyssinia. 

The  African  Hunting  Dog  is  a  white  and  liver  colored  piebald  animal 
with  black  markings.  These  dogs  hunt  in  packs  and  are  very  destructive 
and  in  consequence  are  not  often  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood  of 
farms,  as  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  exterminate  them. 

The  Long-eared  Fox  is  a  grey  slender  animal  with  a  small  black- 
tipped  tail  and  long,  erect  ears.  It  is  very  rare  in  Cape  Colony,  although 
common  enough  in  the  interior.  Its  diet  is  supposed  to  consist  largely 
of  insects. 

There  are  three  or  even  more  varieties  of  Jackals.  Of  these  the 
Black  backed  or  Silver  Jackal  is  the  largest  and  the  most  common.  It 
changes  its  color  with  the  seasons,  being  black  and  tawny  during  the 
wrinter  and  a  grizzly  white  during  the  summer. 

The  Hare  Jackal  is  the  only  other  variety  w^orth  noticing;  its  skin 
being  of  some  value. 

Of  the  smaller  animals  there  are  among  the  carnivora,  the  Civet- 
cats,  rarely  found  south  of  the  Limpopo,  two  varieties  of  the  Otter  and 
several  varieties  of  the  weasel  family,  such  as  the  Mere-cat. 

The  Elephant,  from  the  point  of  view  of  sport,  is  now  practically  non- 
existent in  South  Africa.  In  the  districts  where  elephants  are  still 
to  be  found  they  are  strictly  preserved  in  order  to  save  them  from 
extinction. 

In  Cape  Colony  elephants  are  preserved  in  the  Knysna  and  other 
forests  forming  a  narrow  strip  of  country  from  Mossel  Bay  to  Port 
Elizabeth.  In  1898  it  was  estimated  that  there  were  150  head  in  Cape 
Colony.  These  elephants  are  strictly  preserved  and  may  only  be  shot 
by  special  permission  of  the  Governor  and  on  payment  of  a  fee  of  £20. 


1318  THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

The  only  occasions  on  which  permission  is  given  is  when  an  elephant 
has  habitually  destroyed  property. 

The  high  price  of  ivory  was  the  cause  of  the  rapid  killing  off 'of  the 
elephants.  Some  idea  of  this  killing  off  may  be  gained  by  the  export 
figures  for  1875  and  1897.  These  are  respectively  £60,402  and 
£992. 

The  African  elephant  differs  from  the  Indian  species  in  many  re- 
spects; its  ears  especially  are  enormous,  and  when  extended  in  charging 
are  said  to  measure  as  much  as  15  feet,  from  tip  to  tip,  across  the  fore- 
head. The  brain  of  the  Indian  elephant  is  its  most  vulnerable  point, 
whereas  the  African  elephant  is  almost  impervious  to  the  forehead  shot 
which  is  so  fatal  in  India.  Sir  Samuel  Baker  and  Mr.  Selous  both  bear 
witness  to  this  fact.  This  hardness  of  the  front  of  the  skull  is  shared  by 
the  African  buffalo. 

While  the  female  elephant  is  always  tusked,  the  tusks  only  weigh 
from  15  to  25  Ibs.  each,  wrhereas  the  male  tusks  average  120  Ibs.  In  a 
few  cases  a  single  male  tusk  has  been  known  to  weigh  200  Ibs. 

A  bull  elephant  may  stand  as  high  as  10  feet  6  inches  at  the  shoulder, 
and  is  a  dangerous  animal  to  attack  on  foot,  as  its  hearing  and  scent  are 
most  acute. 

Of  the  Rhinoceros  there  are  or  rather  there  were  two  varieties,  the 
White  and  the  Black.  The  former  is  nearly  extinct,  in  fact  for  some 
time  it  was  considered  as  unobtainable  until  some  specimens  were 
obtained  in  Rhodesia  by  Mr.  Selons.  The  White  Rhinoceros  is  a  very 
large  animal,  larger  than  the  black  variety.  It  is  curious  to  note  that 
its  color  is  practically  the  same.  The  dimensions  are  as  follows:  13 
feet  9  inches  in  length;  12  feet  in  circumference;  6  feet  6  inches  in  height, 
and  bearing  an  anterior  horn,  very  long  and  slender,  sometimes  reach- 
ing the  length  of  4  feet  9  inches. 

The  Black  Rhinoceros  used  once  to  be  found  all  over  the  Cape  Colony, 
one  becoming  especially  renowned  in  that  it  charged  the  coach  of 
Governor  Van  der  Stel  near  Cape  Town  in  1685.  It  has  two  horns,  of 
which  the  front  one  is  usually  the  longer.  It  is  to  be  found  in  practically 
the  same  districts  as  the  elephant,  viz.,  in  the  more  unhealthy  parts  of 
South  Africa,  where  the  tsetse  fly  prevents  the  use  of  horses  or  oxen  by 
the  hunters. 


THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  219 

The  Hippopotamus  has  been  more  fortunate  than  the  rhinoceros, 
but  the  time  of  its  disappearance  is  rapidly  approaching.  It  is 
to  be  seen  plunging  and  splashing  in  the  waters  of  the  Limpopo,  the 
Pungwe  and  the  rivers  of  Zululand  and  Nyassaland.  It  may  also 
be  found  on  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Orange  River.  Its  skin,  which 
is  from  1^  to  2  inches  in  thickness,  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
"sjamboks"  (hide  whips).  The  length  of  the  hippopotamus  is  about  14 
feet  from  tail  to  snout — in  bulk  and  weight  it  is  second  only  to  the 
elephant. 

The  Crocodile  still  holds  its  own  to  a  great  extent,  and  may  be 
found  on  the  rivers  all  down  the  East  Coast,  in  Zululand  and  in  the 
pools  of  Rhodesia.  Into  these  pools  Lobengula  used  to  sometimes  throw 
offenders,  to  be  devoured  by  the  sacred  crocodiles.  In  consequence  of 
these  denizens  of  the  rivers  it  is  extremely  dangerous  for  oxen  going 
down  to  drink  and  for  wayfarers  crossing  over  the  drifts. 

The  Giraffe  has  become  very  scarce  and  there  are  only  a  few  to  be 
found  on  the  Transvaal-Matabeleland  frontier  and  in  the  Kalahari  dis- 
trict. Measured  perpendicularly  from  the  head  to  the  ground  it  stands 
from  IT  to  19  feet.  In  color  it  is  bright  yellow  to  almost  black,  the  latter 
color  being  peculiar  to  very  old  bulls.  The  flesh  is  excellent  and  the 
hide  is  used  for  whip-lashes,  it  being  possible  to  cut  a  strip  20  feet  long 
down  its  back. 

The  Buffalo  is  preserved  in  the  Cape  Colony  in  the  forests  between 
Mossel  Bay  and  Algoa  Bay.  In  1898  it  was  estimated  that  700  head  of 
buffalo  were  in  the  preserves.  Except  for  this  there  are  no  buffaloes 
south  of  the  Limpopo,  though  they  are  fairly  plentiful  in  the  un- 
healthiest  parts  of  the  East  Coast.  The  rinderpest  in  1896-98  reduced 
their  numbers  considerably;  they  suffered  more  than  any  other  wild 
animals. 

The  buffalo  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  of  animals  and  never  hesi- 
tates to  charge  the  hunter.  Cases  have  occurred  in  which  a  buffalo 
has  driven  one  of  its  horns  through  a  horse's  breast  and  out  through  the 
saddle.  Its  color  is  nearly  black  and  its  hair  short  and  smooth.  Stand- 
ing nearly  5  feet  at  the  shoulder,  the  buffalo  has  broad,  strong  horns, 
measuring  from  3  feet  to  3  feet  6  inches. 

One  hunter  describes  how  on  one  occasion  the  head  of  a  buffalo  was 


220  THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

so  massive  as  to  present  a  difficult  feat  to  two  men  to  carry  it  to  the 
camp. 

The  Zebra  proper  is  almost  extinct,  though  there  are  about  200  head 
strictly  preserved  in  the  mountainous  districts  on  the  east  of  Cape 
Colony.  It  stands  about  12  to  12|  hands,  and  is  beautifully  striped 
right  down  to  the  hoof,  but  not  under  the  belly. 

Burchell's  Zebra  is  now  very  rare  in  the  Transvaal,  but  one  variety 
is  to  be  found  in  Bechuanaland.  It  has  been  proved  by  one  or  two 
people  that  it  is  possible  to  domesticate  these  zebras  and  break  them  to 
hacness. 

The  Quagga  has  been  practically  exterminated,  though  only  a  gen- 
eration back  it  was  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  Free  State  plains. 

The  antelopes  are  known  chiefly  by  their  Dutch  names  and  are 
unfortunately  nearly  all  very  rare  and  very  nearly  exterminated. 

The  Eland  is  the  largest  of  all  the  antelopes  and  weighs  as  much  as 
900  Ibs.,  the  meat  being  often  both  tender  and  juicy.  It  stands  from  5 
feet  to  6  feet  at  the  shoulder.  The  horns  are  really  more  than  2  feet 
6  inches  long.  The  skin  is  fawn-colored,  shading  to  white  underneath 
and  is  sometimes  marked  by  white  stripes. 

Owing  to  their  slow  rate  of  speed  in  running,  the  Elands  are  almost 
extinct  south  of  the  Limpopo. 

Mr.  Gordon  Cumming  writes  of  this  antelope: — 

"At  length  I  observed  an  old  bull  Eland  standing  under  a  tree. 
He  was  the  first  that  I  had  seen,  and  was  a  noble  specimen,  standing 
about  6  feet  high  at  the  shoulder.  Observing  us,  he  made  off  at  a 
gallop,  springing  over  the  trunks  of  decayed  trees  which  lay  across  his 
path;  but  very  soon  he  reduced  his  pace  to  a  trot.  Spurring  my  horse, 
another  moment  saw  me  riding  hard  behind  him.  Twice  in  the  thickets 
I  lost  sight  of  him,  and  he  very  nearly  escaped  me;  but  at  length,  the 
ground  improving,  I  came  up  with  him,  and  rode  within  a  few  yards 
behind  him. 

Long  streaks  of  foam  now  streamed  from  his  mouth,  and  a  profuse 
perspiration  had  changed  his  sleek  grey  coat  to  an  ashy  blue.  Tears 
trickled  from  his  large  dark  eye,  and  it  was  plain  that  the  Eland's  hours 
were  numbered. 

This  magnificent  animal  is  by  far  the  largest  of  all  the  antelope 


THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  221 

tribe,  exceeding  a  large  ox  in  size.  It  also  attains  an  extraordinary, 
condition,  being  often  burthened  with  a  very  large  amount  of  fat.  Its 
flesh  is  most  excellent,  and  is  justly  esteemed  above  all  others.  It  has 
a  peculiar  sweetness,  and  is  tender  and  fit  for  use  the  moment  the 
animal  is  killed.  Like  the  Gemsbok,  the  Eland  is  independent  of  water, 
and  frequents  the  borders  of  the  great  Kalahari  desert  in  herds  varying 
from  ten  to  a  hundred.  It  is  also  generally  diffused  through  all  the 
woody  districts  of  the  interior  where  I  have  hunted.  Like  other 
varieties  of  deer  and  antelope,  the  old  males  may  often  be  found  con- 
sorting together  apart  from  the  females,  and  a  troop  of  these,  when  in 
full  condition,  may  be  likened  to  a  herd  of  stall-fed  oxen." 

The  Sable  Antelope  is  still  fairly  plentiful  about  Salisbury;  it  is 
smaller  than  the  Eland  and  is  dangerous  when  at  bay,  making  short 
ferocious  charges.  In  color  it  is  very  dark  tawny  with  white  belly — its 
face  is  peculiar  because  of  the  white  markings  of  it.  The  eye,  which 
lies  close  to  the  horn,  is  very  prominent.  The  horns  are  annulated  and 
curve  evenly  backward. 

The  Roan  Antelope  or  Bastard  Eland  is  rapidly  becoming  extinct 
south  of  the  Limpopo.  Mr.  Gordon  dimming  says: — 

"We  were  entering  a  thicket  of  thorny  bushes  when  a  very  large 
grey-looking  antelope  stood  up  under  one  of  them.  I  could  not  see  his 
head,  but  I  at  once  knew  that  it  was  the  long-sought-for  roan  antelope, 
or  Bastard  Gemsbok.  The  noble  buck  now  bounded  forth,  a  superb  old 
male,  carrying  a  pair  of  grand  scimiter-shaped  horns;  he  stood  nearly 
five  feet  high  at  the  shoulder." 

The  Khoodoo  is  the  most  plentiful  of  the  large  antelopes  and  is  still 
to  be  found  in  the  Eastern  Provinces  of  the  Gape  Colony,  where  it  is 
preserved.  Its  flesh  is  excellent  and  its  hide  makes  fine  leather.  Its 
horns  are  twisted  in  a  beautiful  spiral  and  are  about  3  feet  9  inches  in 
length. 

Mr.  Gordon  Cumming  writes  concerning  this  Antelope: — 

"Owing  to  the  nature  of  the  ground  which  they  frequent,  it  is  a 
very  difficult  matter  to  ride  them  down,  and  they  are  more  usually 
obtained  by  stalking  or  stealing  stealthily  upon  them.  When,  however, 
the  hunter  discovers  a  heavy  old  buck  khoodoo  on  level  ground,  there  is 
no  great  difficulty  to  ride  into  him,  his  speed  and  endurance  being  very 


222  THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

inferior  to  that  of  the  oryx.  The  skin  of  the  khoodoo,  though  thin,  is 
extremely  tough,  and  is  much  prized  by  the  colonists  for  'forelocks/ 
or  lashes  for  ox-wagon  whips." 

The  Oryx  or  Genisbok  frequents  the  most  remote  and  waterless 
parts  of  the*  Kalahari  desert  and  of  Damaraland.  Though  not  one  of 
the  most  fierce  of  the  antelopes  it  has  more  than  once  been  known  to 
prove  a  match  for  a  lion.  The  two  skeletons  are  found  together,  that 
of  the  lion  transfixed  by  the  terrible  horns  of  the  antelope.  The  Genis- 
bok has  the  honor  to  figure  in  the  Coat  of  Arms  of  the  Cape  Colony.  Mr. 
Gordon  Gumming  gives  the  following  vivid  description  of  the  Oryx: — 

"The  Oryx,  or  Gemsbox,  to  which  I  was  now  about  to  direct  my 
attention  more  particularly,  is  about  the  most  beautiful  and  remark- 
able of  all  the  antelope  tribe.  It  is  the  animal  which  is  supposed  to 
have  given  rise  to  the  fable  of  the  unicorn,  from  its  long  straight  horns, 
when  seen,  en  profile,  so  exactly  covering  one  another  as  to  give  it  the 
appearance  of  having  but  one.  It  possesses  the  erect  mane,  long  sweep- 
ing black  tail,  and  general  appearance  of  the  horse,  with  the  head  and 
hoofs  of  an  antelope.  It  is  robust  in  its  form,  squarely  and  compactly 
built,  and  very  noble  in  its  bearing.  Its  height  is  about  that  of  an  ass, 
and  in  color  it  slightly  resembles  that  animal.  The  beautiful  black 
bands  which  eccentrically  adorn  its  head,  giving  it  the  appearance  of 
wearing  a  stall  collar,  together  with  the  manner  in  which  the  rump 
and  thigh  are  painted,  impart  to  it  a  character  peculiar  to  itself.  The 
adult  male  measures  3  feet  10  inches  in  height  at  the  shoulder. 

The  Gemsbox  was  destined  by  nature  to  adorn  the  parched  karroos 
and  arid  deserts  of  South  Africa,  for  which  description  of  country  it  is 
admirably  adapted.  It  thrives  and  attains  high  condition  in  barren 
regions,  where  it  might  be  imagined  that  a  locust  would  not  find  sub- 
sistence, and,  burning  as  is  the  climate,  it  is  perfectly  independent  of 
water,  which,  from  my  own  observation,  and  the  repeated  reports  both  of 
the  Boers  and  Aborigines,  I  am  convinced  it  never  by  any  chance  tastes. 
Of  several  animals  in  South  Africa  which  are  hunted  in  this  manner, 
and  may  be  ridden  into  by  a  horse,  the  Oryx  is  by  far  the  swiftest  and 
most  enduring.  They  are  widely  diffused  throughout  the  center  and 
western  parts  of  Southern  Africa." 

The  Hartebeest  is  still  found  in  the  north  of  Cape  Colony,  and  in  the 


THE  AXIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  223 

Free  State  and  Transvaal,  while  it  is  fairly  common  throughout  Bechu- 
analand  and  the  Kalahari.  Its  height  is  4  feet  and  its  color  a  dark 
chestnut.  The  head  is  long  and  narrow,  and  the  horns,  which  measure 
15  inches,  rise  from  a  peculiar  bony  protuberance  in  the  skull.  The 
brain  lying  behind  this  makes  it  difficult  to  shoot  it  when  charging. 
The  Hartebeest  is  very  swift  but  rather  stupid. 

There  is  also  the  "Lichtenstein"  Hartebeest. 

Of  the  Wildebeests  or  Gnus  there  are  two  varieties,  the  white- 
tailed  gnu  or  black  hartebeest  and  the  brindled  gnu  or  blue  hartebeest. 
The  former  is  one  of  the  supporters  of  the  Cape  Coat  of  Arms,  and  is 
preserved  in  the  Colony.  The  blue  wildebeest  is  extinct  south  of  the 
Limpopo.  The  blue  variety  is  the  larger  and  has  the  characteristic 
curved  horn.  These  branch  like  those  of  an  ox  and  curve  inwards — the 
forehead  is  shaggy  and  massive,  the  hind  quarters  of  this  antelope 
closely  resemble  those  of  an  ill-formed  horse,  the  head  being  very  large 
in  comparison  to  the  body.  In  color  the  black  wildebeest  is  dark  brown, 
while  tne  blue  variety  is  brown  grey  with,  dark  ma'rkings.  Both 
varieties  have  a  heavy  black  mane. 

The  wildebeest  is  a  great  wanderer  and  confines  itself  to  no  settled 
district.  Its  preference  is,  however,  for  the  plains  rather  than  the  hills. 

The  black  wildebeests  which  also  thickly  cover  the  entire  length 
and  breadth  of  the  Blesbok  country,  in  herds  averaging  from  twenty 
to  fifty,  have  no  regular  course,  like  the  Blesboks.  Unless  driven  by  a 
large  field  of  hunters,  they  do  not  leave  their  ground,  although  dis- 
turbed. Wheeling  about  in  endless  circles,  and  performing  the  most 
extraordinary  of  intricate  evolutions,  the  shaggy  herds  of  these  eccentric 
and  fierce-looking  animals  are  forever  capering  and  gambolling  round 
the  hunter  on  every  side.  While  he  is  riding  hard  to  obtain  a  family 
shot  of  a  herd  in  front  of  him,  other  herds  are  charging  down  wind  on 
his  right  and  left,  and,  having  described  a  number  of  circular  move- 
ments, they  take  up  positions  upon  the  very  ground  across  which  the 
hunter  rode  only  a  few  minutes  before. 

Singly,  and  in  small  troops  of  four  or  five  individuals,  the  old  bull 
wildebeests  may  be  seen  stationed  at  intervals  throughout  the  plains, 
standing  motionless  during  a  whole  forenoon,  coolly  watching  with  a 
philosophic  eye  the  movements  of  the  other  game,  constantly  uttering  a 


224  THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

loud  snorting  noise,  and  also  a  short,  sharp  cry  which  is  peculiar  to 
them.  When  the  hunter  approaches  these  old  bulls,  they  commence 
whisking  their  long  \vhite  tails  in  a  most  eccentric  manner;  then 
springing  suddenly  into  the  air,  they  begin  prancing  and  capering,  and 
pursue  each  other  in  circles  at  their  utmost  speed.  Suddenly  they  all 
pull  up  together  to  overhaul  the  intruder,  when  two  of  the  bulls  will 
often  commence  fighting  in  the  most  violent  manner,  dropping  on  their 
knees  at  every  shock;  then  quickly  wheeling  about,  they  kick  up  their 
heels,  whirl  their  tails  with  a  fantastic  flourish,  and  scour  across  the 
plain  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  dust. 

The  Bushbuck  is  one  of  the  few  remaining  antelopes  which  can  be 
hunted  in  the  Cape  Colony  and  Xatal.  It  is  generally  hunted  with 
beaters  and  is  dangerous  when  brought  to  bay.  In  the  open  it  is  com- 
paratively helpless  because  it  is  a  slow  runner;  its  bright  dark  browrn 
color  renders  it  rather  easy  to  detect  amongst  the  bush  which  it  fre- 
quents. This  antelope  only  stands  about  2  feet  10  inches  and  has 
spiral  horns  like  those  of  the  Khoodoo. 

There  are  also  the  Iiiyala  the  Nakong,  the  Dinker  and  the  Spotted 
varieties  of  Bushbuck,  but  these  are  very  rare.  The  Dinker  is  used  by 
Khama,  chief  of  the  Bamangwato,  as  a  crest. 

The  Blesbok  used  formerly  to  be  found  in  enormous  multitudes  all 
over  South  Africa,  but  now  has  become  rare,  there  being  in  1898  only 
some  280  head  in  Cape  Colony.  The  horns  of  the  blesbok  are  about 
15  inches  in  length,  cyrate,  semi-annulated,  pointing  upwards  and 
outwards.  Concerning  the  habits  of  this  antelope  much  information 
is  given  by  Gordon  Gumming. 

The  blesbok,  in  his  manners  and  habits,  very  much  resembles  the 
springbok,  which,  however,  it  greatly  exceeds  in  size,  being  as  large 
as  an  English  fallow-deer.  It  is  one  of  the  true  antelopes,  and  all  its 
movements  and  paces  partake  of  the  grace  and  elegance  peculiar  to 
that  species.  Its  color  is  similar  to  that  of  the  sassayby,  its  skin  being 
beautifully  painted  with  every  shade  of  purple,  violet  and  brown.  Its 
belly  is  of  the  purest  white,  and  a  broad  white  band,  or  "blaze,"  adorns 
the  entire  length  of  its  face.  Blesboks  differ  from  springboks  in  the 
determined  and  invariable  manner  in  which  they  scour  the  plains,  right 
in  the  wind's  eye,  and  also  in  the  manner  in  which  they  carry  their 


THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  225 

noses  close  along  the  ground.  Throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
they  are  very  wary  and  difficult  of  approach,  but  more  especially  when 
the  does  have  young  ones.  At  that  season,  when  one*  herd  is  disturbed, 
and  takes  away  up  the  wind,  every  other  herd  in  view  follows  them; 
and  the  alarm  extending  for  miles  and  miles  down  the  wind,  to  endless 
herds  beyond  the  vision  of  the  hunter,  a  continued  stream  of  blesboks 
may  often  be  seen  scouring  up- wind  for  upwards  of  an  hour  and  cover- 
ing the  landscape  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see. 

The  Springbok  is  to  be  found  on  the  open  treeless  plains  o'f  South 
Africa.  Formerly  it  was  the  most  plentiful  of  the  antelopes  and  used 
to  migrate  in  countless  multitudes.  Thanks  to  the  institution  of  a  close 
season  it  is  probable  that  the  swiftest  of  bucks  may  regain  some  frac- 
tion of  their  former  numbers.  Gordon  Gumming  describes  the  old 
migrations  :— 

"The  accumulated  masses  of  living  creatures  which  the  springboks 
exhibit  on  the  greater  migrations  is  utterly  astounding,  and  any  trav- 
eler witnessing  it  as  I  have,  and  giving  a  true  description  of  what  he 
has  seen,  can  hardly  expect  to  be  believed,  so  marvelous  is  the  scene. 

"They  have  been  well  and  truly  compared  to  the  wasting  swarms  of 
locusts,  so  familiar  to  the  traveler  in  this  land  of  wonders.  Like  them 
they  consume  every  green  thing  in  their  course,  laying  waste  vast  dis- 
tricts in  a  few  hours,  and  ruining  in  a  single  night  the  fruits  of  the 
farmers'  toil.  The  course  adopted  by  the  antelopes  is  generally  such 
as  to  bring  them  back  to  their  own  country  by  a  route  different  from 
that  by  which  they  set  out.  Thus  their  line  of  march  sometimes  forms 
something  like  a  -vast  oval,  or  an  extensive  square,  of  which  the  diame- 
ter may  be  some  hundred  miles,  and  the  time  occupied  in  this  migra- 
tion may  vary  from  six  months  to  a  year. 

"On  the  28th  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  beholding,  for  the  first  time, 
what  I  had  often  heard  the  Boers  alludes  to,  viz.,  a  'trek-bokken,'  or 
grand  migration  of  springboks.  This  was,  I  think,  the  most  extraor- 
dinary and  striking  scene  as  connected  with  beasts  of  the  chase  that  I 
had  ever  beheld. 

"For  about  two  hours  before  the  day  dawned  I  had  been  lying 
awake  in  my  wagon,  listening  to  the  grunting  of  the  bucks  within 
two  hundred  yards  of  me,  imagining  that  some  large  herd  of  springboks 


226  THE  AXIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

was  feeding  beside  iny  camp;  but  on  iny  rising  when  it  was  clear,  and 
looking  about  nie,  I  beheld  the  ground  to  the  northward  of  nay  camp 
actually  covered  with  a  dense  living  mass  of  springboks,  marching 
slowly  and  steadily  along,  extending  from  an  opening  in  a  long  range 
of  hills  on  the  west,  through  which  they  continued  pouring,  like  the 
flood  of  some  great  river,  to  a  ridge  about  a  mile  to  the  northeast,  over 
which  they  disappeared.  The  depth  of  the  ground  they  covered  might 
have  been  somewhere  about  half  a  mile.  I  stood  upon  the  fore  chest 
of  my  wagon  for  nearly  two  hours,  lost  in  wonder  at  the  novel  and  won- 
derful scene  which  was  passing  before  me,  and  had  some  difficulty  in 
convincing  myself  that  it  was  reality  which  I  beheld,  and  not  the 
wild  and  exaggerated  picture  of  a  hunter's  dream. 

"During  this  time  their  vast  legions  continued  streaming  through 
the  neck  in  the  hills  in  one  unbroken  compact  phalanx. 

"Vast  and  surprising  as  was  the  herd  of  springboks  which  I  had 
that  morning  witnessed,  it  was  infinitely  surpassed  by  wrhat  I  beheld 
on  the  march  from  my  vley  to  old  Swear's  camp;  for,  on  our  clearing 
the  low  range  of  hills  through  which  the  springboks  had  been  pouring, 
I  beheld  the  boundless  plains,  and  even  the  hillsides  which  stretched 
away  on  every  side  of  me,  thickly  covered,  not  with  'herds,'  but  with 
'one  vast  herd'  of  springbok;  far  as  the  eye  could  strain,  the  land- 
scape was  alive  with  them,  until  they  softened  down  into  a  dim  red  mass 
of  living  creatures. 

"To  endeavor  to  form  any  idea  of  the  amount  of  antelopes  which  I 
that  day  beheld  were  vain;  but  I  have,  nevertheless,  no  hesitation  in 
stating  that  some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  springboks  were  that 
morning  within  the  compass  of  my  vision." 

Concerning  the  habits  of  the  Springbok  the  same  hunter  writes: — 

"The  springbok  is  so  termed  by  the  Colonists  on  account  of  its 
peculiar  habit  of  springing  or  taking  extraordinary  bounds,  rising  to 
an  incredible  height  in  the  air  when  pursued.  The  extraordinary  man- 
ner in  which  springboks  are  capable  of  springing  is  best  seen  when  they 
are  chased  by  a  dog.  On  these  occasions  away  start  the  herd,  writh  a 
succession  of  strange  perpendicular  bounds,  rising  with  curved  loins 
high  into  the  air,  and  at  the  same  time  elevating  the  snowy  folds  of 
long  white  hair  on  their  haunches  and  along  their  back,  which  imparts 


THE    TUGELA    RIVER    IN    ZULULAND 

This   river,   before   it   enters   Zululand,    flows   near   Colenso,    and  has   been   the   scene   of  the   fierce 
struggle  between  General  Duller  and  the  Boer  army. 


MICA    DEPOSIT    IN    A    DONGA 

An  enormous  deposit  of  mica  is  made  here  by  the  continuous  flow  of  water,  which  has  gradually 
worn  the  rocks  and  formed  this  donga  or  narrow  chasm. 


o   «* 
X   °fe 

g  55 

" 


5  i 

ill 


THE  ANIMALS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  229 

to  them  a  peculiar  fairy-like  appearance,  different  from  any  other 
animal.  They  bound  to  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet,  with  the 
elasticity  of  an  India-rubber  ball,  clearing  at  each  spring  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  feet  of  ground  without  apparently  the  slightest  exertion.  In 
performing  the  spring,  they  appear  for  an  instant  as  if  suspended  in 
the  air,  wrhen  down  come  all  four  feet  again  together,  and,  striking  the 
plain,  away  they  soar  again  as  if  about  to  take  flight.  The  herd  only 
adopt  this  motion  for  a  few  hundred  yards,  when  they  subside  into  a 
light  elastic  trot,  arching  their  graceful  necks  and  lowering  their  noses 
to  the  ground,  as  if  in  sportive  mood.  Presently  pulling  up,  they  face 
about,  and  reconnoiter  the  object  of  their  alarm.  In  crossing  any  path 
or  wagon-road,  on  which  men  have  lately  trod,  the  spring-bok  invariably 
clears  it  by  a  single  surprising  bound;  and  when  a  herd  of  perhaps 
many  thousands  have  to  cross  a  track  of  the  sort,  it  is  extremely  beauti- 
ful to  see  how  each  antelope  performs  this  feat,  so  suspicious  are  they  of 
the  ground  on  which  their  enemy,  man,  has  trodden.  They  bound  in 
a  similar  manner  when  passing  to  leeward  of  a  lion,  or  any  other  animal 
of  which  they  entertain  an  instinctive  dread." 

The  Klip  Springer  is  often  called  the  "Chamois  of  South  Africa." 
It  is  common  to  the  whole  country,  but  prefers  the  rugged,  hilly  dis- 
tricts. 

The  Tsesebe,  or  bastard  Hartebeest,  closely  resembles  the  harte- 
beest,  and  is  fairly  plentiful  beyond  the  Limpopo. 

Besides  the  antelopes  enumerated  above  there  are  various  other 
species  of  which  the  name  will  suffice.  They  are:  The  Waterbuck, 
the  Redbuck,  the  Bluebuck,  the  Reedbuck,  the  Red  Rehbock,  the  Grey 
Rehbock,  the  Bontebock,  the  .Lechive,  the  Pookoo,  the  Palla,  the  Stein- 
bock,  the  Oribi,  the  Gnysbock,  and  the  Damaraland  Antelope. 

Amongst  the  lesser  animals  of  South  Africa  may  be  mentioned  the 
Rock  Rabbit — smaller  than  the  common  rabbit,  allied  to  both  the  ele- 
phant and  rhinoceros;  the  Wart  Pig  and  the  Bush  Pig,  somewhat 
diminutive  specimen  of  the  boar  family,  with,  however,  ferocious-look- 
ing tusks;  the  Cape,  Rock,  Mountsin  and  Spring  Hares  are  also  found. 
The  English  rabbit  exists  on  Robben  Island,  but  may  not  be  introduced 
on  to  the  main  land. 

All  over  South  Africa  may  be  found  the  Ant  Bear,  an  animal  with  a 


230  THE  .-IXiM.iLS  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

long,  low  body,  some  6  feet  in  length,  sparsely  covered  with  black  hair; 
its  snout,  ears  and  tongue  are  also  enormously  long,  but  its  legs  and 
tail  are  strong  and  short.  The  Ant  Bear  devours  ants,  and  invariably 
makes  its  burrow  on  the  south  side  of  the  ant-hill. 

The  Porcupine  is  also  found  all  over  South  Africa. 

The  Pangolins  are  peculiar  to  Africa.  They  are  toothless,  covered 
with  hard  scales,  and  arboreal  in  habit.  When  attacked  they  coil 
themselves  into  a  ball.  Their  food  is  chiefly  ants. 

The  Game  Birds  of  South  Africa  are  very  plentiful,  it  having  been 
decided  that  there  are  eleven  sorts  of  Francolin,  five  of  Quails,  three 
of  Guinea  Fowl,  four  of  Sand  Grouse,  eleven  of  Bustards,  two  of  Dik- 
kops,  three  of  Geese,  thirteen  of  Duck,  Widgeon  and  Teal,  three  of 
Snipe  and  one  of  Ostrich. 

There  are  very  few  wild  Ostriches  to  be  found  in  South  Africa  at 
the  present  time,  as  thejT  are  hunted  down  for  their  feathers,  which  are 
worth  more  than  those  of  the  domesticated  birds.  The  wild  Ostrich  is 
not  fierce  and  is  very  good  eating. 

The  Great  Kori  Bustard  or  "Paauw"  is  the  bird  next  in  size  to  the 
ostrich.  A  cock  Bustard  will  sometimes  stand  as  high  as  5  feet.  These 
birds  are  to  be  found  all  over  South  Africa,  but  are  difficult  to  shoot. 

Besides  these  game  birds  there  are  three  species  of  the  Ibis  (includ- 
ing the  sacred  red  Ibis),  also  varieties  of  the  Stork,  Flamingo,  Heron, 
and  Pelican,  etc.;  there  are  some  fifty-two  varieties  of  the  Hawk  family, 
and  thirteen  sorts  of  Owls. 

There  are  some  thirty  varieties  of  snakes,  many  of  which  are 
venomous.  The  Python,  which  attains  to  a  length  of  20  feet,  is  non- 
poisonous,  and  does  not  attack  unless  molested. 

The  Black  Mamba,  which  is  sometimes  as  large  as  a  rattlesnake,' is 
very  venomous  and  very  ready  to  attack. 

The  Puff  and  other  Adders  are  dangerous  because  of  their  sluggish 
habits.  Lying  in  the  sand,  they  are  not  able  to  move  out  of  the  way  of 
the  passer-by,  and  strike  at  once  when  trodden  upon. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE    CHIEF    INDUSTRIES  "OF    SOUTH    AFRICA. 

THE  industries  of  South  Africa  may  be  divided  for  the  sake  of 
description  into  the  pastoral,  the  agricultural,  the  natural  pro- 
ducts and  the  minerals.  In  the  first  class  are  sheep,  mohair  and 
ostrich  farming. 

The  areas  devoted  to  sheep  farming  are  fairly  wide.  In  the  Cape 
Colony  there  is,  first,  a  district  in  the  Western  Province  from  Caledon 
to  Mossel  Bay  along  the  coast;  and  in  the  eastern  provinces  and  the 
Transkei,  the  whole  country  between  the  Stormberg  Mountains  and  the 
Indian  Ocean.  In  these  areas  the  sheep  are  fed  on  grass.  Then  there 
are  the  central  districts,  including  the  Karoo  and  the  country  north  of 
the  great  mountain  ranges;  here  the  sheep  are  pastured  on  the  succu- 
lent drought-withstanding  Karoo  plants.  In  1896  there  were  14,400,000 
sheep  in  Cape  Colony.  Practically  the  wrhole  of  the  Orange  Free  State 
is  suitable  for  sheep  farming.  In  the  Transvaal  the  high  country  is 
most  useful  and  in  Natal  the  highest  northeast  plateau.  The  sheep  in 
Cape  Colony  are  mainly  of  the  merino  type,  and,  though  for  a  long  time 
little  trouble  was  taken  to  improve  the  breeds,  now  both  from  Australia 
and  England  champions  are  imported,  and  the  class  of  wool  is  likely 
soon  to  be  very  much  raised. 

The  total  yield  of  wool  is,  however,  very  small  and  when  compared 
with  that  of  Australia  shrinks  almost  to  nothingness.  In  1893  there  was 
wool  exported  from  South  Africa  to  the  value  of  £2,400,000,  while  the 
wool  export  of  Australia  was  £25,000,000!  In  1898  the  export  for  South 
Africa,  through  the  Cape  Colony  alone,  was  £1~782,498  worth. 

Mohair  is  furnished  by  the  angora  goat,  which  is  a  native  of  Central 
Asia  and  Asia  Minor.  These  goats  are  pastured  in  many  districts, 
especially  in  the  inland  division  behind  Port  Elizabeth,  such  as  Somer- 
set East  and  Graaf  Reinet,  also  in  the  Klip  River  districts  in  Natal. 
The  angora  goat  was  introduced  into  South  Africa  in  1856,  after  many 

231 


232  THE   CHIEF  INDUSTRIES  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

unsuccessful  attempts.  The  average  annual  clip  per  head  amounts  in 
weight  to  five  or  six  pounds,  and  is  worth  2/ld.  The  herds  of  goats  roam 
at  will  over  the  veldt  and  require  little  care.  In  1896,  in  Cape  Colony 
alone,  there  were  5,000,000  angora  and  other  goats.  The  value  of  the 
annual  export  amounts  to  an  average  of  £400,000,  and  forms  one-third 
of  the  mohair  purchased  in  England. 

Export  in  1897,  £676,644;  1898,  £647,548  (about  f  3,000,000).  (Through 
Cape  Colony.) 

Wherever  there  is  feed  for  cattle  there  cattle  are  to  be  found,  but 
the  country  is  not  especially  adapted  to  cattle  raising,  except  Bechuana- 
land  and  the  Free  State.  In  1878,  there  were  in  Cape  Colony  2,000,000 
cattle,  in  Natal  725,000,  in  the  Free  State  900,000,  while  in  Bechuana- 
land  Khama's  tribe  alone  had  800,000.  As  an  example  of  how  these 
numbers  were  reduced  by  sickness,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Khama's 
800,000  shrunk  to  5,000!  As  the  railways  increase  and  the  transport 
wagons  are  no  longer  required  it  is  probable  that  the  number  of  cattle 
will  decrease  to  a  great  extent.  Hides  are  exported  to  a  considerable 
value.  Export,  1897,  £217,754;  1898,  £199,543  (about  f 2,000,000). 
(Through  Cape  Colony.) 

Eastern  Bechuanaland  is  considered  one  of  the  best  of  ranching 
districts  in  South  Africa,  as  the  grass  is  sweet  and  water  obtainable  by 
digging. 

Ostrich  farming  was  almost  a  South  African  specialty,  but  there  is 
nowr  a  little  competition  in  Australia  and  America.  Ostriches  are  kept 
on  most  of  the  farms  in  Cape  Colony  but  are  more  especially  cultivated 
in  the  Oudtshoorn  district  and  in  the  districts  round  Port  Elizabeth. 
The  price  of  ostrich  feathers  varies  very  much,  but  the  average  value 
of  the  yearly  exports  is  £oOO,000  (about  $2,450,000).  The  ostrich  is  a 
native  of  South  Africa  and  there  have  been  three  stages  in  the  industry 
of  its  feathers.  First,  the  birds  were  hunted  and  killed  to  obtain  the 
feathers.  Then  ostrich  chicks  up  to  seven  months  of  age  were  caught 
and  farmed.  They,  however,  grew  up  wild  and  unmanageable,  so  that 
in  1865  there  were  only  eighty  birds  amongst  the  live  stock.  In  1869, 
however,  the  third  stage  was  arrived  at,  when  Mr.  Arthur  Douglas  per- 
fected his  artificial  incubator.  This  enabled  the  birds  to  be  properly 
domesticated.  In  1896  the  number  of  ostriches  in  Cape  Colony  was  esti- 


THE   CHIEF  INDUSTRIES  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  233 

mated  as  225,000.  The  value  of  feathers  exported  in  1897  was  £605,058 
(about  13,000,000);  in  1898,  £748,565  (about  $3,600,000). 

Under  the  agricultural  industries  are  corn,  wine,  fruit  and  tobacco. 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  a  regular  rainfall  South  Africa  is  not  very 
suitable  for  the  growing  of  grain.  The  principal  grain  areas  in  the 
Cape  Colony  are:  A  western  district,  consisting  of ,  the  plains  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  Africa,  round  Malmesbury ;  an  eastern  district,  of 
which  Graaf  Reinet  and  Middleburg  are  the  centers;  and  the  most 
important  area  lying  between  the  Stormberg  Mountains  and  the  Orange 
River,  containing  Herschel  and  Barkly  East  districts.  Grain  is  not 
grown  in  the  Karoo  or  in  the  Eastern  Coast  districts,  the  former  is  too 
dry  and  the  latter  are  too  damp.  On  the  southeastern  border  of  the 
Orange  Free  State  there  is  a  grain  district  100  miles  long,  from  Bethle- 
hem to  Wepener,  which  has  a  periodic  rainfall.  In  the  Transvaal  grain 
can  be  grown  in  the  central  country,  including  the  districts  between  the 
River  Marico  and  Lydenburg.  In  Natal  the  only  grain  grown  to  any 
extent  is  maize;  on  the  high  plateaus  oats  are  also  grown.  There  are 
many  kinds  of  grains  grown  in  South  Africa,  from  wheat  to  maize  and 
Kaffir  corn.  South  Africa,  however,  by  no  means  professes  to  be  a 
corn-growing  country. 

Viticulture  is  the  oldest  established  industry  of  the  Cape.  There 
was  a  time  when  wine  was  the  best  known  product  of  the  Cape,  and 
when  "Constantia"  fetched  a  monopoly  price  in  Europe.  That  time  has 
long  passed;  but  wine  is  still  exported  from  the  Cape.  If  the  export 
be  small  it  is  the  fault  of  the  manufacturer,  not  of  the  grapes,  for  the 
soil  of  the  Cape  Peninsula  and  the  neighboring  districts  where  viti- 
culture is  carried  on  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  grape 
vine.  These  are  grown  without  any  support,  appearing  like  small 
bushes.  As  to  the  suitability  of  South  Africa  for  viticulture  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  the  report  made  by  the  Australian  expert  in  1885  to  the 
Cape  Government.  According  to  his  report,  the  vineyards  of  the  Cape 
are  six  times  as  productive  as  those  of  Europe,  and  eight  times  as  pro- 
ductive as  those  of  Australia.  The  yield  in  the  coast  districts  reached 
the  fabulous  sounding  proportion  of  86|  hectolitres  per  hectare,  in  the 
inland  districts  173  hectolitres!  Yet,  after  all  this,  the  export  of  wine 
is  very  insignificant,  being  in  1892  valued  at  £18,000  (about  $88,000), 


234  THE   CHIEF  INDUSTRIES  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

and  in  1898  at  £15,043  (about  f  75,000).    The  fact  is  that  the  Dutch  are 
not  enterprising  enough  as  industrialists  to  develop  this  trade. 

Tobacco  is  grown  chiefly  in  the  Oudtshoorn  district,  but  has  not  yet 
become  a  recognized  article  of  export. 

Fruit  of  all  kinds  grows  in  profusion  throughout  South  Africa.  In 
the  Cape  Colony  oranges,  lemons,  apples  are  cultivated,  besides  many 
soft  fruits,  while  in  Natal  bananas  and  pineapples  are  the  principal 
fruits.  There  is  now  a  growing  export  trade  in  fruit  with  Europe,  prin- 
cipally during  January,  February  and  March. 

As  to  sugar,  in  Natal  there  are  some  36,000  acres  under  cultivation 
and  36  factories,  notably  in  the  districts  of  Durban,  Alexandra  and 
Unuzuito.  It  is  owing  to  this  industry  that  Natal  has  become  one  of 
the  colonies  where  East  Indian  coolies  form  an  important  element  in 
the  population.  The  sugar  output  in  1891-92  was  15,000  tons;  in  1897- 
98,  15,000  tons. 

Coffee  is  also  grown  to  a  small  extent,  while  cotton  has  been  at- 
tempted. The  cultivation  of  tea  is,  however,  a  growing  industry  in 
Natal.  In  1898  it  produced  over  £200,000  (about  f  1,000,000). 

The  want  of  forests  in  South  Africa  is  one  of  the  greatest  mis- 
fortunes of  the  country;  it  helps  to  reduce  the  rainfall  and  aggravates 
the  tendency  of  the  rain  to  run  off  rapidly.  This  has  been  realized  to  a 
certain  extent,  and  in  many  districts  trees  are  being  planted  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  moisture  and  enriching  the  country.  There 
are,  however,  a  few  forest  areas;  the  best  known  of  these  is  on  the  south 
coast  in  George,  Knysria  and  Humansdorp  divisions.  Here  there  is  a 
belt  of  timber  150  miles  long,  with  a  depth  inland  of  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles.  The  other  chief  forest  region  is  behind  King  Williamstown  in 
the  east.  The  timber  includes  yellow  wood,  stink  wood  and  box  wood. 
In  Bechuanaland  there  are  considerable  woody  tracts  of  country,  but 
the  timber  is  mostly  thorny  mimosas.  The  western  portion  of  the  high 
plateau  is  almost  bare  of  trees,  having  only  scrub  and  a  few  mimosas. 
The  eastern  portion,  which  is  better  watered,  has  more  trees,  but  all 
small.  The  new  trees  which  are  being  planted  are  not  indigenous,  but 
are  chiefly  the  Australian  Eucalyptus  and  occasionally  British  oaks. 
The  former,  called,  generally,  gum  trees,  arc  chosen  because  they  grow 
quickly  in  dry  soil.  The  city  of  Johannesburg  is  the  best  example  of 


THE  CHIEF  INDUSTRIES  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA.  235 

the  change  that  these  trees  can  make  in  about  twelve  years.  Where 
once  was  a  bare  ridge  there  is  now  a  town  crowded  with  gum  trees,  big, 
healthy  trees  which  would  never  strike  the  onlooker  as  being  youthful 
Uitlaiiders. 

The  mineral  wrealth  of  South  Africa  is  very  great,  but  it  has  for  the 
most  part  only  been  discovered  very  recently,  and  now  South  Africa 
may  be  said  to  be  living  on  her  capital,  not  her  income,  because  of  the 
rate  at  which  the  minerals  are  being  worked. 

Copper  mining  is  the  oldest  of  the  mineral  industries  of  modern 
South  Africa.  There  have  been  gold  and  silver  workings  in  the  far 
past,  but  these  need  not  be  taken  into  consideration  here.  The  copper 
deposits  are  to  be  found  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Cape  Colony. 
Copper  mining  began  in  1852,  and  by  1864  the  export  had  risen  to 
£100,000  in  value.  Since  that  date  the  annual  output  has  reached  a 
value  varying  from  £250,000  to  £800,000  per  annum.  In  1898  it  was 
£262,820  (about  $1,300,000).  Ookiep,  where  the  copper  mines  lie,  is 
connected  with  Port  Nolloth  by  a  railway  90  miles  long. 

Silver  is  found  in  the  Cape  Colony,  but  not  in  payable  quantities.  It 
is  worked  in  the  Transvaal  in  an  area  of  about  150  square  miles,  east  of 
Pretoria.  Its,  development  has  however  been  hindered  by  the  rush  for 
the  gold  mines. 

Coal  is  found  in  Natal,  the  Orange  Free  State,  the  Transvaal,  Cape 
Colony  and  Rhodesia.  The  mines  in  Natal  are  in  the  highest  and  most 
northern  of  the  three  natural  terraces  in  the  colony.  The  annual  output 
is  increasing,  and  the  quality  of  the  coal  is  very  good.  In  1898  it  was 
decided  to  give  an  annual  contribution  to  the  Imperial  navy  of  30,000 
tons. 

The  Transvaal  coal  fields  are  close  to  the  gold  fields,  but  deposits 
are  found  over  an  area  estimated  at  56,000  square  miles. 

In  the  Cape  Colony  there  are  mines  being  worked  in  the  Stormberg 
Mountains;  these  produce  about  40,000  tons  annually  and  are  princi- 
pally employed  to  supply  the  railway  systems,  The  principal  center  is 
the  little  town  of  Molteno, 

Diamonds  are  found  in  the  Kimberley  district  and  to  a  very  small 
extent  in  the  Transvaal.  The  first  diamond  was  found  in  1867  on  the 
bank  of  the  Orange  River,  In  1869-70  the  stones  were  found  largely 


236  THE  CHIEF  INDUSTRIES.  OF  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

where  Kimberley  now  stands.  The  annual  output  is  £4,000,000,  and 
since  the  first  finds  more  than  £100,000,000  ($490,000,000)  worth  have 
been  exported. 

Gold  is  found  in  Cape  Colony,  but  not  in  payable  quantities  (at 
Knysna  and  at  Prince  Albert).  It  is  also  found  in  Xatal  in  the  Tugela 
Valley  and  at  Umzinto,  but  not  in  any  great  quantities.  In  Swaziland 
and  Zululaud  there  are  fair  deposits.  At  Tati  in  North  Bechuanaland 
and  in  the  eastern  and  northeastern  districts  of  the  Transvaal,  at  Bar- 
berton  and  Lydeuburg,  gold  occurs.  In  all  or  nearly  all  these  places, 
.as  also  in  Matebeleland  and  Mashonaland  the  gold  occurs  in  quartz 
reefs,  and  in  many  cases  the  reefs  are  very  promising. 

But  in  the  Transvaal,  on  the  Witwatersrand,  there  is  to  be  found 
the  center  of  the  gold  mining  industry  of  South  Africa.  In  1886  it 
was  found  that  the  conglomerate  reef,  known  as  "banket,"  was  gold- 
bearing,  in  fact,  was  impregnated  with  very  fine  gold  particles.  The 
main  reef  extends  about  thirty  miles  east  and  west  of  Johannesburg. 
This  reef,  from  Randfontein  to  Boksburg,  is  the  center  of  the  mining 
activity.  There  are  some  60  or  more  companies  employed  around  Jo- 
hannesburg. At  first  the  ore  was  very  easily  reduced,  but  now  the  most 
complicated  processes  are  required  to  extract  the  gold.  (For  methods 
of  working,  see  on  "Johannesburg").  The  total  value  of  the"  gold  still  in 
the  reef  is  estimated  at  £700,000,000  (about  $3,500,000,000),  and  the  an- 
nual output  is  now  about  £15,000,000  (about  $75,000,000). 


FAMOUS  MEN   AND   LEADING  TOWNS  OF 
SOUTH  AFRICA. 


CHAPTER  I. 
POLITICAL  WORKERS. 

SECTION    I.      EARL    GREY. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  figures  in  South  Africa  history  to-day 
is  beyond  all  doubt  that  of  Earl  Grey.  He  was  born  in  1851,  the 
same  year  as  Mr.  Ehodes.  His  father,  the  Hon.  Charles  Grey,  was 
younger  brother  of  the  late  Earl  Grey,  a  childless  old  statesman  who 
had  spent  his  life  in  the  service  of  the  Queen  and  whose  long  years  of 
old  age  found  him  inexhaustibly  interested  in  Imperial  questions, 
especially  in  the  problems  of  South  Africa.  His  nephew  and  heir,  young 
Albert  Grey,  went  to  Cambridge -University  and  there  took  a  distin- 
guished place,  afterwards  showing  considerable  interest  in  the  Univer- 
sity Extension  movement.  In  1880  he  entered  the  House  of  Commons 
and  there  remained  until  1886.  In  the  latter  year  he  lost  his  seat  when 
the  split  in  the  Liberal  party  took  place,  because  he  had  identified  him- 
self with  the  Liberal  Unionists,  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy 
of  Home  Kule  for  Ireland. 

During  the  later  years  of  his  Parliamentary  life  Mr.  Albert  Grey 
had  become  deeply  interested  in  South  Africa  and  proved  himself  a 
valuable  member  of  the  South  African  Committee.  He  was  then  all 
in  favor  of  the  policy  of  direct  Imperialism  and  was  one  of  those  who 
saw  most  clearly  that  the  office  of  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa 
ought  to  be  separated  from  the  Governorship  of  one  South  African 
colony.  But  in  1889  when  the  charter  was  granted  to  the  British  South 
Africa  Company  Mr.  Albert  Grey  went  over  to  the  other  side.  He  ex- 
plained that  his  convictions  on  African  policy  were  the  same,  but  that 
he  believed  it  to  be  necessary  and  good  for  South  Africa  itself 'that  a 
Chartered  Company  should  take  the  initial  work  of  opening  up  the  terri- 
tories north  of  the  Transvaal.  He  hoped  that  with  his  well-known 
sympathy  towards  the  natives  and  his  desire  for  the  maintenance  of 
British  supremacy  in  South  Africa,  he  might  be  able  to  exercise  as  a 

239 


240  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

director  of  the  company  considerable  influence  upon  the  management 
of  its  affairs  in  its  new  territories.  Mr.  Grey  probably  anticipated  as 
little  as  anyone  the  course  of  events  which  afterwards  led  him  to  be- 
come, as  he  is  to-day,  the  Administrator  for  Ehodesia. 

Having  succeeded  to  the  Earldom  on  the  death  of  his  uncle  he  found 
himself,  in  1896,  appointed  to  succeed  Dr.  Jameson  in  the  office  which 
the  latter  lost  after  the  perpetration  of  the  Raid.  He  arrived  in  Rhode- 
sia and  found  himself  speedily  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  war  of  rebel- 
lion there.  He  has  frankly  recorded  the  fact  that  experience  has 
considerably  altered  his  ideas  concerning  the  right  methods  of  govern- 
ing native  tribes  and  the  developing  of  unoccupied  territories.  As 
regards  the  former  he  defends  on  the  whole  the  administration  of  the 
British  South  Africa  Company.  He  holds  that  they  ought  to  have 
carried  the  conquest  of  Matabeleland  in  1893  to  completion,  and  that 
the  rebellion  of  1896  arose  from  the  fact  that  the  natives  were  not  thor- 
oughly beaten  in  the  first  struggle.  He  also  defends  the  treatment  of 
the  natives  even  against  the  reports  of  certain  Imperial  officers.  He 
holds  that  the  natives  are  in  danger  of  becoming  more  degraded  by  not 
being  forced  to  work,  while  he  is  most  emphatic  in  the  assertion  that 
he  does  not  mean  to  exert  physical  force  in  order  to  obtain  that  result. 
He  now  holds,  he  says,  that  the  method  of  direct  Imperial  control  is 
much  inferior  to  that  of  control  by  a  Chartered  Company,  and  he  has 
arrived  at  that  decision  by  comparing  the  rapidity  with  which  Matabele- 
land has  been  developed  through  the  Chartered  Company  with  the  much 
slower  rate  of  progression  observed  in  Bechuanaland,  which  is  under 
Imperial  control.  The  comparison  will  not,  however,  convince  even 
those  who  admire  Earl  Grey's  ability,  high  character  and  humanitarian 
spirit.  Even  in  Bechuanaland  the  method  of  direct  Imperialism  has  not 
received  adequate  attention  and  encouragement.  Nevertheless,  the 
friends  of  South  Africa  and  of  the  natives  have  every  reason  to  be 
thankful  that  in  these  years  of  uncertainty  they  can  count  upon  a 
righteous  as  well  as  a  vigorous,  a  kindly  as  well  as  a  just  administration 
being  exercised  in  Rhodesia  as  long  as  the  subject  of  this  sketch  holds 
his  position  of  great  responsibility  and  magnificent  promise. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  241. 

SECTION    II.     DR.   JAMESON. 

Dr.  Leander  Starr  Jameson,  a  Scotchman,  born  in  Edinburgh  on 
February  9th,  1853,  is  the  youngest  son  of  the  late  Mr.  K.  W.  Jame- 
son, Writer  to  the  Signet,  his  mother  being  a  daughter  of  Major- 
General  John  Pringle.  The  family  subsequently  settling  in  London, 
Dr.  Jameson,  after  distinguishing  himself  at  school  both  as  a  student 
and  an  athlete,  studied  medicine  at  University  College  Hospital. 
There  his  career  was  a  brilliant  one.  He  obtained  silver  medals  for 
medicine,  surgery,  anatomy,  and  pathology,  besides  a  surgical  scholar- 
ship, and  graduated  in  1875  at  London  University,  obtaining  the  gold 
medal  for  medical  jurisprudence.  Everything  promised  him  a  success- 
ful and  most  lucrative  practice  in  the  highest  walks  of  his  profession  in 
London ;  but  his  health  gave  way  under  the  strain  of  overwork,  and  after 
a  short  health  tour  in  America  he  accepted,  in  1878,  a  partnership  with 
Dr.  Prince  of  Kimberley.  His  reputation  grew  rapidly,  and  he  was  soon 
recognized  as  one  of  the  chief  authorities  in  South  Africa  in  every 
department  of  medicine.  For  instance,  the  Free  State  Volksraad,  by 
special  resolution,  requested  his  attendance  on  the  late  President  of 
the  Orange  Free  State,  Sir  Henry  Brand,  at  Bloemfontein.  To  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  his  business,  untiring  industry,  and  a  conscientious 
sense  of  the  responsibility  of  his  work,  Dr.  Jameson  added  an  amount 
of  tact  and  a  keen  sympathetic  insight  into  human  nature  which  gave 
to  his  society  the  charm  for  which  he  has  become  so  well  known. 
Among  the  host  of  firm  friends  made  by  him  during  his  residence  in 
Kimberley,  Mr.  Cecil  Khodes  stands  out  prominently;  and  at  the  time 
when  the  amalgamation  of  the  diamond  mines  was  in  process  and  the 
extension  of  British  influence  northward  was  still  a  dream  of  the 
future,  their  life  was  one  of  intimate  association.  At  this  period  Mr. 
Rhodes  was  only  beginning  to  be  known,  and  was  regarded  even  by  his 
friends  as  somewhat  over-sanguine.  Dr.  Jameson  was  possibly  the 
one  man  who  gauged  his  powers  and  his  plans  correctly.  With  an 
enthusiasm  which  equalled  that  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  Dr.  Jameson  saw  the 
greatness  of  his  friend's  schemes  and  the  possibility  of  their  realization. 

In  1888  it  became  necessary  for  Mr.  Rhodes  to  send  a  trustworthy 
agent  to  Buluwayo,  to  carry  out  the  various  delicate  negotiations  con- 


212  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

nected  with  the  development  of  the  concession  granted  to  himself  and 
Mr.  Rudd.  After  much  careful  consideration,  Dr.  Jameson  was  selected. 
He  persuaded  Mr.  Doyle  and  Major  Maxwell,  both  skilled  interpreters, 
to  accompany  him  to  Lobengula's  kraal,  and  remained  three  months 
with  the  king,  whom  he  meanwhile  cured  of  an  attack  of  gout.  Before 
he  left  he  acquired  great  influence  with  Lobengula  and  his  principal 
councillors,  and  his  mission  was  completely  successful.  The  Charter 
was  formally  recognized,  and  full  permission  was  given  for  the  advance 
of  a  pioneer  force  into  Mashonaland. 

Having  completed  his  task,  Dr.  Jameson  returned  to  his  practice 
in  Kimberley.  Difficulties  arose  at  Buluwayo  after  his  departure,  how 
ever,  and  at  Mr.  Rhodes's  request  he  returned  there,  and  once  more 
persuaded  the  king  to  agree  to  the  proposals  made  on  behalf  of  the 
company.  Drv  Jameson  remained  in  Buluwayo  in  communication  with 
Mr.  Rhodes,  and  the  Pioneer  Expedition  started  on  its  road  up  country. 
Ultimately  he  joined  the  columns  and  accompanied  them  to  Salisbury 
as  the  representative  of  Mr.  Rhodes. 

The  next  task  was  originated  by  Dr.  Jameson  himself,  and  was  an 
exceedingly  arduous  one.  Recognizing  .the  necessity  of  a  shorter  and 
less  expensive  route  to  the  coast  than  the  long  overland  journey  from 
the  south  which  they  had  accomplished,  Dr.  Jameson,  accompanied  by 
Major  Frank  Johnson,  left  Salisbury,  and  traversed  the  country  east- 
wards to  the  Pungwe,  striking  that  river  at  about  seventy  miles 
from  its  mouth.  The  two  adventurous  explorers  proceeded  down  the 
river  in  a  portable  boat  brought  with  them  in  sections  by  native  carriers, 
and  successfully  reached  the  steamer  waiting  for  them  in  Pungwe 
Bay,  after  which  Dr.  Jameson  proceeded  to  Cape  Town  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  his  expedition  to  Mr.  Rhodes.  The  ultimate  result  of  this 
hazardous  journey  was  the  laying  of  the  Beira  Railway. 

Shortly  afterwards,  believing  that  Dr.  Jameson  could  best  carry 
out  his  plans  with  regard  to  Mashonaland,  Mr.  Rhodes  requested  him 
to  return  there  as  his  representative,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  1890 
Dr.  Jameson  again  appeared  at  Salisbury.  After  a  short  stay,  utilized 
in  furthering  the  interests  of  the  Chartered  Company  and  in  confirming 
much  that  had  already  been  done,  he  determined,  on  the  occasion  of  a 
visit  to  Manica,  close  on  the  Portuguese  border,  to  proceed  to  the  Gaza 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  243 

country,  ruled  over  by  the  Chief  Gungunhama,  with  the  object  of  secur- 
ing that  vast  territory  for  the  Chartered  Company. 

It  was  in  Manica,  when  Dr.  Jameson  was  with  Mr.  Colquhoun,  the 
Administrator  of  Mashonaland,  that  the  treaty  of  the  Umtasa  had  been 
signed.  This  treaty,  which  in  reality  put  an  end  to  the  hopes  of  Por- 
tuguese expansion  in  Southeast  Africa,  was  most  comprehensive.  It  pro- 
vided that  no  one  could  possess  lands  in  Manica  except  with  the  consent 
of  the  British  South  African  Company  in  writing;  it  conceded  to  the 
company  complete  mineral  rights;  it  gave  permission  for  the  construc- 
tion and  establishment  of  public  works  and  conveniences  of  all  kinds, 
such  as  roads,  railways,  tramways,  banks,  etc. 

Taking  with  him  Messrs.  Doyle  and  Moody,  and  totally  unprovided 
with  comforts,  or  even  the  bare  necessaries  for  such  an  undertaking, 
he  pushed  across  the  veldt  to  Gungunhama's  chief  kraal,  and  arrived 
there  in  spite  of  innumerable  difficulties;  he  thus  penetrated  what 
at  that  time  was  believed  to  be  one  of  the  most  fever-stricken  districts 
south  of  the  Equator. 

On  arriving  at  Gungunhama's  "Great  Place"  (both  of  Dr.  Jameson's 
companions  being  prostrated  with  fever),  he  found  the  King  surrounded 
by  Portuguese  officials,  who  had  with  them  a  strong  following  of  Por- 
tuguese native  troops.  But  in  the  face  of  all  this  the  expedition  resulted 
in  success,  in  so  far  as  concerned  the  negotiations  with  the  King,  who 
freely  invited  the  occupation  of  his  country  by  the  British  South  Africa 
Company.  As,  however,  this  concession  was  made  the  subject  of  corre- 
spondence between  the  British  and  Portuguese  Governments,  then  dis- 
cussing the  Anglo-Portuguese  Treaty,  the  expedition  did  not  result  in 
an  accession  of  fresh  territory  to  the  Chartered  Company. 

This  fearful  march  to  the  Limpopo  left  Dr.  Jameson,  on  his  return 
to  Cape  Town,  in  a  very  debilitated  condition,  and  the  victim  of  repeated 
and  severe  attacks  of  malarial  fever.  At  the  end  of  1891  Mr.  Colquhoun 
announced  his  desire  to  resign  office  as  Administrator  of  Mashonaland. 
Mr.  Khodes  pressed  the  appointment  upon  Dr.  Jameson.  The  position 
in  Mashonaland  was  then  exceedingly  difficult.  The  Company  had  been 
incurring  enormous  expense  in  administering  the  country,  while  at  the 
same  time  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  were  organizing  treks  to  invade 
and  take  possession  of  a  portion  of  the  territory,  with  a  view  to  establish 


244  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

a  new  Boer  Republic,  and  in  addition  to  all  this,  the  white  population 
was  in  a  condition  of  grave  disaffection.  But  Dr.  Jameson,  ill  though  he 
was,  at  once  consented  to  face  all  these  difficulties,  and,  receiving  full 
power  from  the  High  Commissioner  to  deal  with  the  Boer  trek,  set  out 
for  Mashonaland  as  Administrator.  He  immediately  took  steps  to  meet 
the  most  pressing  danger.  On  the  banks  of  the  Limpopo,  supported 
by  a  troop  of  the  British  Bechuanaland  Police,  he  found  himself  near 
a  large  body  of  armed  Boers  preparing  to  cross  the  river.  An  error 
of  judgment  might  have  precipitated  a  war  between  the  English  and 
Dutch  elements,  but  fortunately  the  new  Administrator  was  equal  to 
the  occasion.  Alone  and  unarmed  he  met  the  Boers  and  persuaded  them 
to  give  up  their  enterprise  and  to  return  to  their  homes.  Still  suffering 
from  fever,  Dr.  Jameson  went  on  to  Salisbury,  where  he  conciliated  the 
discontented  colonists. 

The  early  days  of  the  development  of  all  colonies  are  hard,  and  in 
Rhodesia  the  settlers  had  to  suffer  many  hardships  and  privations. 
Mr.  Rhodes's  appointment  of  Dr.  Jameson  as  Administrator  was  a  ver- 
itable inspiration,  for  his  administration  was  marked  both  by  its  ability 
and  its  popularity  with  the  settlers. 

In  1892,  Dr.  Jameson  got  to  work  and  succeeded,  by  wonderful 
administrative  ability,  in  reducing  the  expenses  of  the  Company  from 
£250,000  to  £30,000  a  year.  In  the  short  space  of  twelve  months  he 
was  able  to  make  a  financial  statement  in  which  the  revenue  and  the 
expenditure  almost  balanced. 

In  July,  1893,  the  murderous  Raids  of  the  Matabele  reached  right 
up  to  the  township  of  Victoria.  Then  Dr.  Jameson,  seeing  that  his 
remonstrances  to  Lobengula  were  unavailing,  ordered  up  some  police 
to  restore  order.  The  Matabele  were  dispersed  by  the  police  and  it 
was  determined  to  strike  promptly  against  the  numerous  bands  of 
Matabele  which  had  invaded  Mashonaland. 

There  were  only  40  police  available,  but  the  settlers  organized  them- 
selves into  a  formidable  force.  This  force,  under  the  supreme  command 
of  Dr.  Jameson,  advanced  on  Buluwayo  in  three  columns,  amounting 
in  all  to  about  900  Europeans.  After  an  engagement  on  the  Shangani 
River,  in  which  the  Matabele  were  repulsed,  the  decisive  battle  was 
fought  at  Imbebesi,  where  some  7,000  of  Lobengula's  best  warriors  were 


OLIVE    SCHREINER 

This  is  the  maiden  name  of  the  most  famous  South  African  author.  She  is  extremely  short  in  stature, 
a  woman  of  very  warm  heart,  impulsive,  with  great  power  of  literary  expression  and  noble  moral 
instance.  She  has  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Boers  with  the  utmost  passion,  mainly  because  she  believes 
that  the  capitalists,  with  Mr.  Rhodes  at  their  head,  have  been  the  cause  of  the  troubles  which  led  to  the 
war.  She  married  a  Mr.  Cronwright.  They  are  now  known  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cronwright  Schreiner. 


DR.  L.  S.  JAMESON,  C.  B. 


BARNEY  BARNATO 


MUSTER  OF  TOWN   BURGHERS— PRETORIA,  NOV.  11,  1899 


POLITICAL   WORKERS.  247 

routed  with  great  loss.  Following  their  usual  custom,  the  Matabele 
charged  the  laager  but  could  not  stand  before  the  hail  of  shot  from  the 
machine  guns.  Three  days  later,  Buluwayo,  the  capital  of  Lobengula, 
was  taken,  while  Lobengula  himself,  who  had  fled,  was  closely  pur- 
sued by  Major  Forbes'  force.  It  was  in  this  pursuit  that  Major  Wilson 
with  some  38  men  attempted  to  capture  the  fleeing  monarch  by  a  bold 
dash.  This,  however,  was  not  possible,  owing  to  the  lack  of  reinforce- 
ments, and  Wilson  was  attacked  by  overwhelming  numbers  of  Mata- 
bele. He  and  all  his  band,  having  exhausted  their  ammunition,  died 
fighting  to  the  last. 

There  are  few  more  brilliant  campaigns  to  be  found  in  history  than 
the  overthrow  of  the  power  of  the  dreaded  Matabele  King  by  such  a 
small  force  of  volunteers.  Dr.  Jameson  deserves  great  credit  for  his 
organization  and  direction  of  the  volunteer  force;  the  war  was  cheap 
too,  only  costing  about  £100,000  (about  f  500,000).  The  main  reason  for 
the  success  of  the  Matabele  campaign  is  that  Dr.  Jameson  struck  before 
the  Matabele  had  had  time  to  prepare  for  his  attack.  Thus  many  of  the 
best  regiments  of  Lobengula  never  went  into  battle  at  all.  It  was  a  fine 
imitation  of  the  raids  of  the  Matabele  themselves. 

After  the  campaign,  Dr.  Jameson  took  up  his  residence  at  Buluwayo 
and  the  fine  country  soon  drew  together  a  great  number  of  his  volun- 
teers and  others. 

Dr.  Jameson  was  very  active  in  stamping  out  witchcraft  amongst 
the  Matabele,  a  course  of  action  which,  though  distasteful  to  the  witch 
doctors,  ameliorated  the  condition  of  the  natives  considerably. 

After  the  war,  when  the  Matabele  chiefs  came  to  learn  the  "Great 
White  Chiefs"  will  from  Dr.  Jameson,  they  came  downcast,  filled  with 
nameless  forebodings.  But  at  the  end  of  the  interview  they  were  much 
relieved,  and  said:  "Now  we  can  go  away  and  sleep"  (the  Matabele 
way  of  expressing  that  their  fears  had  been  set  at  rest).  Dr.  Jameson 
declared  to  the  assembled  indunas  that  it  was  the  company's  earnest 
wish  that  the  white  men  should  live  in  friendship  with  the  black. 
As  Administrator  he  certainly  did  his  utmost  to  bring  about  this  con- 
summation. 

Then  came  the  disastrous  Raid  which  forever  bears  the  name  of 
Dr.  Jameson.  Acting  under  the  orders  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  the  Managing 


248  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

Director  of  the  British  South  Africa  Chartered  Company,  Dr.  Jameson 
collected  during  1895  on  the  northwest  borders  of  the  Transvaal  a  force 
of  mounted  police.  These  were  concentrated  at  Tuli  and  Mafeking,  and 
were  placed  there  in  order  to  be  able  to  back  up  the  British  Representa- 
tive on  his  arrival  at  Pretoria  or  Johannesburg,  in  the  event  of  a  rising 
of  the  Uitlanders.  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  Chairman  of  the  Goldflelds  South 
Africa  Co.,  was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  whole  conspiracy.  The 
agitators  in  Johannesburg,  however,  did  not  make  good  conspirators, 
and  they  had  no  leader.  While  they  were  collecting  guns  and  prepar- 
ing deliberately  for  their  coup  Dr.  Jameson  was  kept  fretting  on  the 
frontier,  anxious  to  go  in.  Dr.  Jameson  repeatedly  urged  the  necessity  of 
hurrying  on  the  revolution,  as  otherwise  he  was  sure  that  the  position  of 
his  forces  would  become  known,  and  alarm  the  Boers  into  preparations 
for  defensive  action.  Becoming  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  great 
lack  in  Johannesburg  was  a  leader  who  would  be  prepared  to  act  boldly, 
Dr.  Jameson  at  last  took  the  bit  between  his  teeth,  and  started  for 
Johannesburg  on  December  30th,  1895.  The  two  columns  from  Tuli  and 
Mafeking  met,  and  then  the  force  under  Dr.  Jameson,  numbering  494 
men,  pushed  on  with  all  speed  towards  the  Rand  city.  The  distance 
was  150  miles  and  many  of  the  troopers  were  unable  to  obtain  remounts 
on  the  journey.  Dr.  Jameson  had  despatched  men  to  cut  the  tele- 
graph wires,  but  they,  being  drunk,  had  bungled  the  business.  Conse- 
quently the  news  of  his  start  was  able  to  bring  only  consternation  to 
the  hearts  of  the  unprepared  conspirators.  They  saw  their  famous 
Jameson  Plan  being  ruined  by  the  Jameson  Raid.  Messages  were 
despatched  after  Dr.  Jameson,  ordering  him  to  come  back  in  the  name 
of  the  High  Commissioner  and  of  Mr.  Chamberlain.  These  orders  were 
disregarded.  In  spite  of  the  knowledge  that  the  Boers  were  fully  aware 
of  the  Raid,  and  were  concentrating  in  great  numbers  before  Johannes- 
burg, the  wild  rush  went  on.  At  last  they  met  the  Boers.  After  many 
hours'  fighting,  the  little  force,  worn  out,  with  done  horses,  reached 
Doornkop  near  Krugersdorp.  Here  they  made  a  gallant  stand  until  the 
arrival  of  Boer  reinforcements  and  artillery  compelled  Dr.  Jameson  to 
surrender,  on  receiving  the  assurance  of  their  personal  safety  from 
the  Boer  commander.  The  Raiders  were  taken  to  Pretoria  as  prisoners, 
and  there  was  much  discussion  as  to  whether  they  should  be  shot  or 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  249 

not.  President  Kruger,  however,  decided  that  they  should  be  allowed 
to  go  home  to  England  to  be  dealt  with  by  their  own  Government. 

Dr.  Jameson's  action  took  the  Johannesburg  revolutionists  so  abso- 
lutely by  surprise  that  they  were  unable  to  help  him ;  they  did  not  even 
destroy  the  railway  line  to  prevent  the  arrival  of  the  Staats  artillery. 
They  have  often  been  called  cowards  for  this  non-action  on  their  part, 
but  it  is  well  known  now  that  they  did  not  deserve  this  reproach.  The 
feeling  in  Johannesburg  during  the  period  of  time  between  the  start 
and  the  finish  of  the  Raid  raised  the  bitter  feelings  of  the  Outlanders  to 
such  an  extent  that  one  of  them  said  later  that,  if  he  had  had  a  gun  he 
would  have  felt  inclined  to  shoot  Jameson  as  he  was  brought  prisoner 
into  the  town.  Dr.  Jameson  seemed  absolutely  crushed  by  his  failure, 
and  looked  as  if  he  would  have  been  rather  glad  to  be  shot  and  so 
escape  the  sense  of  defeat  and  universal  contempt. 

Dr.  Jameson  was  taken  to  England  with  his  officers,  and  was  tried 
in  Court  at  the  Old  Bailey  in  London.  The  law  under  which  they 
were  charged  was  the  "Foreign  Enlistment  Act."  The  prisoners  were 
found  guilty,  and  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  sentenced  Dr.  Jameson  to 
imprisonment  for  thirteen  months  as  a  first-class  misdemeanant,  while 
the  Imperial  officers  acting  under  him  lost  their  commissions — and  this 
though  they  only  obeyed  the  orders  of  their  superior  officer,  who  assured 
them  that  he  acted  under  Government  orders!  These  commissions 
have  been  returned  to  all  the  officers  now.  Dr.  Jameson,  after  his 
imprisonment  and  the  investigation  of  the  Select  Committee,  went  out 
to  Africa  again,  and  since  then  has  been  practically  in  retirement. 
He  has  suffered,  as  so  many  before  him  have  done,  from  the  fact  that, 
while  a  successful  revolution  is  a  "noble  struggle  for  rights,"  an  unsuc- 
cessful one  is  "rebellion." 

Dr.  Jameson  was  one  of  the  few  men  who  foresaw  the  present  war, 
and  he  was  anxious  to  see  it  begin  that  "Doornkop"  might  be  avenged. 
He  has  been,  during  the  first  four  months  of  the  invasion  of  Natal, 
locked  up  in  Ladysmith  where,  on  the  relief  of  the  town,  he  was  found 
to  be  struggling  under  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever. 


250  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

SECTION    III.      GENERAL   JOUBERT. 

One  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  South  African  history  is  beyond 
all  doubt  that  of  the  famous  Commandant-General  of  the  Transvaal 
ordinarily  known  as  Piet  Joubert.  He  stands  out  in  the  history 
of  this  country  as  the  political  opponent  of  President  Kruger,  who 
has  repeatedly  contested  with  him  for  the  Presidentship  and  who  has 
steadily  opposed  the  policy  which  so  completely  repressed  the  Outland- 
ers.  If  in  1888  he  had  been  elected  President  it  is  most  unlikely  that 
the  franchise  law  would  have  been  developed  to  the  extreme  which  it 
reached  under  President  Kruger,  and  in  this  case  the  entire  history  of 
the  Transvaal  Government  would  have  taken  another  direction. 

Joubert  was  born  in  Cango,  Cape  Colony,  in  1834,  and  is,  therefore, 
nine  years  younger  than  his  rival,  Mr.  Kruger.  His  parents  were  poor 
and  he  was  left  an  orphan  at  an  early  age.  It  may  be  due  to  the  rough 
experiences  of  his  early  life  that  his  character  has  ever  been  marked 
by  a  certain  manliness  and  self-reliance,  differing  in  quality  even  from 
the  sturdiness  and  passion  for  political  independence  manifested  by 
President  Kruger.  As  his  name  indicates  General  Joubert  is  of  French 
descent,  and  the  Huguenot  blood  flowing  in  his  veins  perhaps  accounts 
for  a  certain  high  type  of  feeling  which  marks  him  out  from  the  char- 
acteristic Boer.  Embarked  on  the  serious  business  of  life  as  a  stock- 
farmer  in  the  Wakkerstroom  district,  in  the  southeast  of  the  Transvaal, 
he  soon  became  known  as  a  keen  man  of  business,  with  rare  natural 
ability.  He  prospered  in  his  trading  and  rapidly  acquired  large  landed 
interests  in  his  district. 

Tired  of  his  farming  life,  and  filled  with  ambitions  of  another  order, 
he  transferred  his  attention  to  law,  and  in  the  exercise  of  this  profession 
became  something  of  a  jurist  and  had  practice  in  speaking  which  has 
stood  him  in  good  stead.  When  he  became  a  judge  his  popularity  rapidly 
spread,  and  in  1867  he  was  elected  as  a  member  of  the  Volksraad.for 
his  district.  Here  he  rapidly  came  to  the  front  and  became  State  Attor- 
ney. During  the  visit  of  President  Burgers  to  England  he  and  President 
Kruger  exercised  supreme  authority  in  the  land.  Like  his  associate, 
he  was  deeply  disappointed  in  the  failure  of  the  President's  visit  to 
Europe,  and  he  was  one  of  the  first  probably  to  see  the  direction  in 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  251 

which  events  were  mcmng.  With  deepest  grief  of  heart  he  found  him- 
self compelled  to  acknowledge  that  impending  national  bankruptcy 
and  internal  civil  disorders  all  pointed  in  one  direction,  which  was 
thrown  into  clear  view  before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  land  wrhen  Shep- 
stone,  the  British  Commissioner,  arrived  in  December,  1876. 

When  the  annexation  took  place  Mr.  Joubert  had  already  retired 
from  office  and  no  pressure  could  induce  him  to  assume  any  attitude  but 
that  of  intense  hostilit3T  towards  the  British  Government.  He  had  long 
been  known  for  his  clever  management  of  events  and  for  the  success 
with  which  through  perplexing  circumstances  he  moved  to  the  front 
in  his  career.  But  at  this  period  his  course  of  conduct  was  so  quiet,  so 
self-controlled  and  so  wrise  that  henceforth  he  was  known  with  a  tender 
affection  amongst  his  own  people  as  "slim  (sly)  Piet."  He  went  with 
Mr.  Kruger  on  a  mission  to  England  to  make  their  protest  against  the 
act  of  annexation  at  headquarters..  He  was  deeply  concerned,  in  the 
succeeding  years,  wTith  all  the  quiet  and  persistent  methods  used  by  the 
agitators  to  cast  obloquy  upon  the  British  authorities  and  arouse  to 
fresh  endeavors  the  courage  of  the  Boers.  When  the  war  broke  out 
Joubert  was  appointed  Commandant-General  and  it  was  largely  through 
his  energy,  his  quickness  of  movement  and  his  resourcefulness  that  the 
invasion  of  Natal  took  place  and  so  many  battles  wrere  wron.  When  the 
war  ended  no  name  stood  higher  in  the  Transvaal  than  that  of  Joubert. 

General  Joubert  has  always  been  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Kruger's, 
although  a  political  opponent.  It  is  asserted  that  on  one  occasion  (1893) 
when  they  were  competing  for  the  Presidency  Mr.  Joubert  actually 
secured  a  larger  number  of  votes  but  that  the  counting  was  not  fairly 
done.  After  the  first  election  of  1883,  when  they  were  rivals,  Mr.  Kru- 
ger, as  soon  as  his  victory  was  announced,  turned  round,  shook  hands 
with  his  defeated  rival,  Mr.  Joubert,  and  appointed  him  Commandant- 
General  on  the  spot.  To  him  the  modern  organization  of  the  military 
forces  of  the  Transvaal  owes  its  main  features.  He  has  divided  the 
country  into  seventeen  sections  with  a  commander  for  every  division, 
these  again  are  subdivided.  He  has  insisted  that  every  Boer  shall  have 
his  rifle  always  in  good  order,  food  supplies  for  a  fortnight  within  reach 
in  his  household,  and  himself  ever  ready  to  respond  to  his  General's  call. 
When  General  Joubert  gives  the  signal  the  Boers  in  every  district,  leav- 


252  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

ing  their  farms  to  their  wives,  ride -to  the  local  rendezvous  where  they 
receive  information  as  to  their  further  movements.  There  is  probably 
no  other  country  in  the  world  where  the  forces  for  defensive  or  offensive 
action  can  be  so  quickly  mobilized.  It  was  tested  suddenly  by  the  Jame- 
son Raid,  and  the  manner  in  which  that  task  was  carried  out,  proved 
that  forty-eight  hours  is  ample  time  within  which  to  assemble  the 
burghers  in  effective  numbers  and  move  to  a  definite  engagement. 

In  1884-5  when  President  Kruger  both  foolishly  and  treacherously 
allowed  his  burghers  to  carry  on  systematic  raids  on  the  western  borders 
General  Joubert  was  kept  in  active  military  service.  He  was  sent  to  those 
borders  ostensibly  to  preserve  order.  The  result  of  his  presence  was  not 
at  all  visible  in  any  lessening  of  the  wrongs  which  were  being  inflicted 
upon  native  tribes,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  understand  exactly  what 
Mr.  Joubert  was  doing  during  those  three  months  in  this  region.  But  to 
his  great  disgust  President  Kruger  allowed  himself  to  be  drawn  into 
making  a  proclamation  which  even  his  faithful  supporter  and  military 
adviser  found  utterly  inexcusable.  This  was  the  well-known  proclama- 
tion by  which  President  Kruger  annexed  the  territory  of  Montsioa, 
which  a  few  months  before  had  been  proclaimed  as  British  territory 
under  the  explicit  terms  of  the  London  Convention  of  the  same  year. 
General  Joubert  as  soon  as  this  act  of  mingled  folly,  presumption  and 
unfaithfulness  was  made  public  resigned  office  and  went  in  disgust  to 
his  home. 

At  a  later  date  it  was  Mr.  Joubert  who  almost  led  his  country  into 
difficulties  in  another  direction  and  it  was  President  Kruger  who  this" 
time  resisted  his  advice  and  saved  themselves  from  disgrace.  Mr.  Jou- 
bert had  long  cast  his  eyes  with  eagerness  northwards  beyond  the 
Limpopo  into  Matabeleland  and  Mashonaland.  So  far  back  as  1882  he 
wrote  a  letter  to  Lobengula,  the  Matabele  chief,  which  must  be  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  diplomatic  documents  which 
have  ever  been  put  on  record.  He  addresses  Lobengula  as  "Great 
Ruler"  and  sends  his  regards  to  him,  "the  son  of  the  late  king  of  Mata- 
beleland, our  old  friend  Moselekatse."  This  old  friend,  be  it  remem- 
bered, was  the  terrific  chief  who  had  slaughtered  the  Boers  on  their  first 
entrance  into  the  Transvaal,  whom  thev  had  driven  north  with  great 

/  */  o 

slaughter, -between  whom  and  themselves  there  had  ever  after  existed 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  253 

intense  mutual  hatred  and  distrust!  The  letter  is  written  in  order  to 
inform  Lobengula  regarding  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal  and  the 
glorious  way  in  which  the  English  had  been  beaten.  He  desires,  in 
fact,  to  win  the  chiefs  heart  away  from  his  confidence  in  the  English  and 
to  create  in  him  a  corresponding  trust  in  the  Boers.  The  following  lan- 
guage is  interesting,  "The  English  took  away  our  country,  the  Trans- 
vaal, or,  as  they  say,  annexed  it.  We  then  talked  nicely  for  four  years, 
and  begged  for  our  country.  But  no;  when  an  Englishman  once  sees 
your  property  in  his  hand,  then  he  is  like  a  monkey  that  has  his  hands 
full  of  pumpkin  seeds — if  you  don't  beat  him  to  death  he  will  never  let 
go — and  then  all  our  nice  talk  for  four  years  did  not  help  us  at  all. 
Then  the  English  began  to  arrest  us  because  we  were  dissatisfied,  and 
that  caused  shooting  and  fighting,  then  the  English  first  found  that  it 
would  be  better  to  give  us  back  our  country.  Now  they  are  gone,  and 
our  country  is  free,  and  we  will  now  once  more  live  in  friendship  with 
Lobengula,  as  we  lived  in  friendship  with  Moselekatse,  and  such  must 
be  our  friendship  that  so  long  as  there  is  one  Boer  and  one  Matabele 
living  these  two  must  remain  friends."  He  is  eager  to  visit  Lobengula, 
but  he  is  waiting  until  "the  country  has  become  altogether  settled,  and 
the  stink  which  the  English  brought  is  first  blown  away  altogether." 
The  letter  concludes  by  offering  a  present  of  a  "blanket  and  a  handker- 
chief for  his  great  wrife  who  is  the  mother  of  all  the  Matabele  nation." 
With  exceeding  cleverness  "Slim  Piet"  closes  this  remarkable  epistle 
by  describing  how  he  had  recently  punished  the  chief  of  a  native  tribe, 
destroying  their  fortifications  and  making  them  pay  a  fine  of  5,000 
cattle  and  4,000  sheep  and  goats  for  their  wickedness;  and  another 
chief  well-known  and  powerful  must  soon  be  punished,  he  adds  cas- 
ually, he  must  also  pay  a  fine!  With  these  quiet  covert  warnings  to 
Lobengula,  the  epistle  appropriately  comes  to  an  end. 

In  1891  Mr.  Joubert  once  more  turned  his  eyes  with  longing  towards 
the  regions  of  the  north.  He  in  that  year  organized  a  trek,  and  in 
this  project  he  received  the  support  of  many  of  his  own  relatives  and 
others.  The  plan  was  that  they  should  move  northwards  into  what  is 
known  as  Banyailarid,  occupy  whatever  territory  seemed  attractive  to 
them  and  there  form  a  new  republic.  We  are  told  that  arrangements 
had  been  ripened  even  to  the  length  of  naming  the  officers  of  the  new 


254  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

republic  before  the  party  had  left  the  Transvaal.  Mr.  Joubert  and  his 
friends  thus  set  out  on  the  task  of  founding  a  new  nation.  They  moved 
in  their  slow-going  wagons  northwards  till  they  reached  the  boundary 
of  their  country,  the  Limpopo  River.  News  of  their  project  had  of 
course  spread  far  and  wide  and  at  a  place  called  Rhodes's  Drift  they 
were  met  by  the  Administrator  of  Rhodesia,  Dr.  Jameson.  He  displayed 
no  military  force,  confronted  them  merely  with  the  facts  of  the  case 
and  put  the  matter  so  strongly  and  clearly  that  their  journey  was  for 
the  time  arrested.  Meantime  representations  from  still  higher  quarters 
were  made  to  President  Kruger,  who,  under  the  pressure  of  these,  at 
last  sent  a  message  to  General  Joubert  which  compelled  him  most  un- 
willingly to  turn  his  face  to  his  own  beloved  country  again  and  give  up 
the  dream  of  founding  another  Boer  republic  in  the  center  of  Africa. 

In  1896  it  looked  as  if  General  Joubert  would  have  his  revenge.  Dr. 
Jameson  and  his  officers  who  conducted  the  Raid  under  him  were  in 
prison.  The  one  raider  now  felt  that  he  had  the  mastery  of  the  other 
raider,  and  it  was  General  Joubert  who  most  strenuously  insisted  that 
Dr.  Jameson  and  his  fellow  raiders  should  be  hanged.  President  Kru- 
ger, however,  with  a  shrewder  insight  into  the  case,  argued  with  him 
throughout  a  whole  night.  In  the  morning  Joubert  was  conquered  and 
it  was  his  turn  now  to  conquer  his  fellow-citizens  whom  he  had  excited 
to  the  hanging  point.  His  speech  of  persuasion  was  characteristic  of 
Boer  oratorical  efforts.  Like  the  President,  Mr.  Kruger,  he  turns 
naturally  to  incidents  in  animal  life,  or  on  the  battlefield,  or  in  the  chase, 
for  the  illustrations  which  are  to  strike  his  arguments  home.  "Fellow 
burghers,"  he  said,  "if  you  had  a  beautiful  flock  of  sheep,  and  a  neigh- 
bor's dogs  got  into  the  pasture  and  killed  them,  what  would  you  do? 
Would  you  pick  up  your  rifle  and  straightway  proceed  to  shoot  those 
dogs,  thus  making  yourself  liable  to  greater  damage  than  that  which 
the  dogs  had  done,  or  would  you  lay  hold  on  those  dogs  and  take  them 
to  your  neighbor,  saying:  'Now,  here  are  your  dogs.  I  caught  them 
in  the  act.  Pay  me  for  the  damage  done,  and  they  shall  return  to  you'?" 
There  was  eloquent  silence  while  the  crowd  of  farmers  slowly  and 
steadily  made  the  application  and  then  the  General  drove  it  in.  "We 
have  the  neighbor's  dogs  in  our  jail  here.  WThat  shall  we  do  with  them?" 
Thus  once  more  President  Kruger  had  his  way. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  255 

In  personal  appearance  the  Commandant-General  is  tall,  but  not 
so  broad  as  many  of  the  Boers  are,  and  he  usually  is  represented  in 
photographs  with  a  slight  stoop  of  the  shoulders  forward.  He  has  a 
broad,  straight-furrowed  brow  which  overhangs  a  pair  of  powerful  and 
clear  gray  eyes.  The  eyes  are  not  shifting  and  furtive  as  those  of 
President  Kruger  are  generally  said  by  visitors  to  be.  The  mouth  is 
cold  and  hard,  the  corners  drooping  slightly,  and  the  expression  as  a 
whole  is  not  amiable.  His  nose  is  prominent,  indicating  in  its  outline 
a  certain  power  mingled  with  a  more  sensitive  nature  than  that  of  the 
average  Boer.  General  Joubert  is  very  fond  of  being  photographed,  and 
the  last  which  the  world  has  seen  was  taken  by  Mr.  Bennet  Burleigh, 
war  correspondent  for  the  London  Daily  Telegraph,  who  photographed 
him  just  at  the  opening  of  the  war  as  he  was  making  his  journey  by  rail 
to  his  first  camp. 

General  Joubert  has  visited  Europe  on  several  occasions,  the  first 
occasion  being  in  1877.  Again  in  1891  he  visited  England  and  then 
extended  his  travels  to  America.  He  crossed  the  continent  to  the  Pacific- 
coast,  returning  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Kailroad.  In  the  course  of  this- 
journey  he  made  several  public  speeches,  one  being  delivered  at  New 
York  under  the  chairmanship  of  the  late  Mr.  Henry  George,  and  the 
other  in  Toronto.  It  is  said  that  he  was  entertained  by  the  Knicker- 
bocker Club  at  New  York  on  his  return;  he  looked  forward  to  the  event 
with  glee  as  he  promised  himself  that  then  before  his  fellow  Dutchmen 
he  would  be  able  to  use  once  more  his  native  tongue.  During  the 
course  of  the  dinner  Joubert  turned  to  the  chairman  and  in  Dutch 
asked  him  if  he  could  make  his  speech  in  that  language.  The  chairman 
did  not  understand  the  question.  When  it  was  repeated  in  English,  to 
Joubert's  consternation  the  reply  came  that  there  was  probably  only 
one  man  there  who  could  understand  Dutch,  and  he  was  the  Minister 
from  Holland.  On  returning  to  his  hotel  a  friend  said,  "You  see,  Piet, 
that  here  Dutch  has  had  to  give  way  to  the  English  language,  and  soon 
you  will  all  be  speaking  English  throughout  South  Africa."  "I  do  not 
mind,"  replied  Joubert,  "if  English  does  take  the  place  of  my  language, 
if  only  we  have  our  liberty  and  our  rights  left  to  us." 

Mrs.  Joubert  is  said  to  be  a  marvelously  active  woman  who  has  been 
in  the  habit  of  accompanying  her  husband  on  his  campaigns  of  war, 


250  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

providing  for  him  in  his  tent  as  at  home.  She  has  the  credit  of  pos- 
sessing more  real  moral  courage  than  her  husband,  who  is  apt  to  yield 
before  the  force  of  another  will.  While  not  so  well  educated  as  the 
General,  she  exercises  very  great  influence  over  him  in  the  matters 
which  he  has  under  consideration  and  seeks  to  strengthen  him  for  carry- 
ing through  any  policy  or  project  in  which  he  encounters  opposition 
outside.  It  is  even  said  that  she  it  was  who  urged  the  General  on  when, 
at  Majuba  Hill,  he  was  loath  to  make  the  attack  and  was  in  the  act  of 
inspanning  his  oxen  for  a  hasty  retreat. 

General  Joubert  throughout  his  life  has  been  characterized  by  a 
broader  outlook  than  President  Kruger.  He  has  been  at  the  head  of  the 
progressive  party  in  the  Transvaal.  In  1893  he  almost  succeeded  in 
winning  the  Presidentship  at  the  polls  from  Mr.  Kruger,  but  in  1898 
as  the  result  of  the  Raid  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Transvaal 
he  had  no  chance  and  did  not  become  a  candidate.  He  has  always  con- 
fessed that  the  reforms  demanded  by  the  Outlanders  were  not  unrea- 
sonable. In  a  letter  written  some  months  before  the  war  he  said:  "If 
you  came  to  me  to-day  with  a  petition,  praying  for  reforms,  I  assure 
you  that  I  would  quite  willingly  sign  my  name,  for  I  also  want  to  better 
the  conditions  of  the  Government,  which  I  know  is  not  what  it  should 
be."  For  example,  he  has  admitted  that  the  conditions  of  obtaining  the 
franchise  by  Outlanders  ought  to  be  more  liberal  and  more  simple. 
He  wrould  even  grant  it  after  two,  three  or  four  years'  residence.  He 
would  repeal  the  renunciation  and  revocation  clauses  of  the  oath,  em- 
ploying only  a  declaration  or  oath  of  fidelity,  loyalty  and  obedience  to 
the  Transvaal  Republic,  such  as  the  Orange  Ffee  State  demands.  This 
would  cut  a  man  off  from  his  previous  citizenship  and  bind  him  to  the 
South  African  Republic  with  all  needed  solemnity.  He  would,  how- 
ever, retain  the  custom  that  has  been  introduced  of  recent  years  into 
the  Transvaal  by  which  the  oath  of  allegiance  is  made  at  the  beginning 
of  the  full  period  which  must  elapse  before  the  power  of  exercising  the 
franchise  is  conferred. 

It  is  strange,  therefore,  to  reflect  that  the  old  General  is  fighting  to 
provide  what  he  regards  as  not  unreasonable  reforms.  His  is  perhaps 
the  most  pathetic  figure  in  this  war,  as  he  leads  his  armies  in  what  he 
knows  to  be  a  hopeless  struggle  for  the  independence  of  his  country. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  257 

The  pathos  is  deepened  when  we  realize  that  his  own  policy  would 
have  removed  those  very  features  of  Transvaal  law  which  occasioned 
the  disputes  that  led  to  the  war.  Referring  to  the  possibility  of  war, 
he  declared  that  he  could  not  see  sufficient  reason  for  a  conflict  between 
England  and  the  Transvaal.  In  his  opinion  the  differences  could  have 
been  settled  peacefully  and  without  resort  to  arms.  He  was  throughout 
unwilling  to  admit  that  the  controversy  would  end  in  war,  while  as  a 
loyal  citizen  he  stood  ready  to  carry  out  the  behests  of  his  Government. 

SECTION    IV.     SIR   HERCULES   ROBINSON. 

Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  one  of  the  many  distinguished  Britons 
who,  having  been  fortunate  enough  to  become  widely  known  under 
their  family  name,  have  hidden  themselves  under  a  title  of  nobility  on 
being  raised  to  the  House  of  Lords.  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  became 
Lord  Rosmead  at  the  very  end  of  his  life  when  his  public  career  was 
over.  Hence  we  must  speak  of  him  in  the  following  paragraphs  by  that 
name  which  he  wore  throughout  his  life. 

His  fame  rests  upon  the  fact  that  he  became  High  Commissioner  for 
South  Africa,  and  Governor  of  the  Cape  Colony  at  one  of  the  most  critical 
turning  points  in  the  history  of  the  country.  He  was  sent  out  as  im- 
mediate successor  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  who  had  been  appointed  for  the 
express  purpose  of  carrying  out  a  policy  of  vigor  and  hurry,  but  had 
been  recalled  under  a  cloud  of  official  disgrace.  Others  had  pursued 
that  policy  without  wisdom  and  the  disastrous  effects  were  laid  upon 
his  shoulders.  Like  many  men  who  have  been  concerned  in  the  exten- 
sion or  upbuilding  of  the  British  Empire,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  an 
Irishman.  His  father  was  Admiral  Hercules  Robinson  of  Rosinead  in 
the  County  of  Westmeath.  The  younger  Hercules  never  forgot  his  an- 
cestral home,  and  at  the  close  of  his  life  he  assumed  its  name  as  his  title 
in  the  House  of  Lords. 

While  a  young  man  Hercules  Robinson  held  various  posts  in  the 
Irish  civil  service;  then  he  became  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  the  County 
of  Kildare.  After  a  short  period  of  military  service  in  the  87th  Regi- 
ment, he  was  appointed  President  of  Montserrat,  and  for  forty  years 
thereafter  he  spent  his  life  in  the  Governorship  of  distant  portions  of 
the  British  Empire.  He  became  successively  Governor  of  the  Leeward 


258  POLITICAL   WORKERS. 

Islands,  Governor  of  Hong  Kong,  and  Governor  of  Ceylon.  In  the  year 
1872  he  received  remarkable  promotion,  and  the  first  real  opportunity 
of  his  life,  by  his  appointment  to  the  Governorship  of  New  South  Wales. 
Hitherto  he  had  been  ruling  over  the  populations  of  dependencies, 
where  the  stage  of  self-government  had  not  been  reached.  He  now 
undertook  the  much  more  delicate  task  of  acting  as  the  titular  ruler  of 
a  great  self-governing  colony.  He  appears  to  have  made  himself  both 
popular  as  a  man  and  successful  as  an  official  in  this  important  sphere, 
and  did  good  service  by  drawing  attention  to  the  problem  which  since 
those  years  has  made  gradual  approaches  to  a  solution,  namely,  the  con- 
federation of  all  the  Australian  Colonies.  He  was  one  of  those  who 
believed  in  the  possibility,  and,  if  all  goes  well,  the  probability  of  fed- 
erating all  the  great  colonies  with  Great  Britain  herself  in  still  closer 
bonds  than  those  which  at  present  make  them  one. 

Eobinson  as  a  student  of  constitutional  history  admired  the  Ameri- 
can and  Canadian  Constitutions  and  saw  clearly  that  for  any  state  in 
Australia  to  stand  out  of  the  union  in  the  hope  of  benefiting  itself  would 
be  an  act  of  political  and  even  of  commercial  suicide.  The  consumma- 
tion which  he  so  long  ago  helped  with  others  to  prepare,  has  quite  re- 
cently been  happily  reached  on  that  continent. 

In  the  year  1881  the  Governor  of  New  South  Wales  received  an  ap- 
pointment of  a  still  more  trying  nature  and  the  supreme  task  of  his  life 
was  laid  upon  Sir  Hercules  Kobinson.  It  was  in  the  year  1881.  Sir 
Bartle  Frere,  almost  universally  loved  in  South  Africa  by  Boer  and  Eng- 
lish alike,  who  had  had  nothing  to  do  either  with  the  annexation  of  the 
Transvaal  or  its  inisgovernment  or  with  the  war  of  independence  or  the 
retrocession  of  the  country,  was  made  the  scapegoat  for  the  blunders 
of  others,  especially  of  his  superiors  in  London.  He  was  openly  threat- 
ened with  impeachment  on  his  return,  and  in  every  way  had  his  name 
deliberately  blackened  by  men,  some  of  whom  might  have  been  honored 
by  blacking  his  shoes.  The  Government  decided  to  put  in  his  place 
some  one  whose  career  had  been  characterized  by  suavity  of  manner, 
correctness  of  official  performance  and  quietness  of  purpose.  They 
found  such  an  one,  and  afterwards  paid  the  price,  in  Sir  Hercules  Rob- 
inson. He  was  an  ideal  official,  scrupulous  even  punctilious  in  the  ob- 
servance of  all  the  routine  and  etiquette  of  high  official  life.  He  had 


POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

spent  his  life  in  seeking  to  please  men,  and  gave  himself  in  South  Africa 
to  the  task  of  pleasing  every  one.  He  had  never  been  compelled  as  Sir 
Bartle  Frere,  an  immeasurably  greater  man,  to  undertake  labors  de- 
manding large  grasp  of  policy  and  what  one  may  call  the  initiative 
impulse.  He  was  always  more  led  than  leader. 

When  he  arrived  in  South  Africa  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  found  the 
Dutch  party  aroused  to  a  white  heat  of  self-consciousness  and  ambi- 
tiousness  by  the  victory  of  their  revolutionary  brethren  in  the  Transvaal. 
Everywhere  the  race  feeling  between  English  and  Boers  was  accentu- 
ated. The  keenest  minds  in  the  Dutch  Republic  and  in  the  Dutch  party 
in  Cape  Town  saw  as  by  a  keen  intuition  into  the  weakness  of  the  British 
Government,  its  attitude  of  compliance  with  whatever  demands  the 
Boers  might  make.  Mr.  Gladstone  had  avowedly  restored  to  the  Trans- 
vaal its  independence  because  the  Boer  inhabitants  of  the  country 
demanded  it.  "Where,"  these  same  men  seem  to  have  asked  themselves, 
"Where  shall  we  find  the  limits  to  this  acquiescent  spirit?  Where  will 
Great  Britain  attempt  the  hard  task  of  putting  down  her  foot  and  say- 
ing, Thus  far  and  no  farther?"  The  result  of  cogitations  and  questions 
of  this  kind  in  the  minds  of  men  at  Pretoria,  Bloemfontein  and  Cape 
Town  was  the  formation  of  the  Afrikander  Bond.  Concerning  this  most 
remarkable  and  most  powerful  society,  the  real  moulder  of  South  Afri- 
can history  since  that  date,  we  give  a  full  account  elsewhere  in  these 
pages.  The  instinct  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  it  may  almost  be  said  his 
inevitable  duty,  in  the  circumstances  was  to  please  the  Afrikandtr  Bond. 
His  Governorship  may  therefore  be  summed  up  in  this  statement,  that  he 
sought  conscientiously  and  earnestly  on  the  one  side  to  win  over  the 
trust  and  affections  of  the  Dutch  people  by  yielding  to  their  demands  in 
all  matters  which  seemed  to  him  compatible  with  the  maintenance  of 
British  authority;  but  on  the  other  hand  this  drove  him  at  various  im- 
portant points  to  find  a  way  to  exercise  that  authority  which  should  at 
once  preserve  it  from  destruction  and  yet  suit  it  to  the  ostensible  aims 
of  the  Afrikander  Bond.  In  1883  the  Governor  returned  to  London  in 
time  to  meet  the  Transvaal  Delegates  in  conference  with  Lord  Derby. 
The  result  of  their  conference  was  the  drawing  up  and  signing  of  the 
London  Convention  of  1884,  and  for  this  document  Sir  Hercules  was 
very  largely  responsible,  'hi  that  Convention  we  find  that  once  more 


2(>0  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

Great  Britain  has  yielded  a  large  number  of  vital  points  to  the  demands 
of  the  Boers,  without  anj  counterbalancing  gifts  on  their  part  whatso- 
ever. At  only  two  points  did  Lord  Derby  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson 
maintain  a  firm  attitude,  the  one  was  regarding  the  making  of  treaties, 
the  other  the  drawing  of  the  boundary  line  in  South  Bechuanaland. 
With  regard  to  South  Bechuanaland  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  publicly 
committed  himself  to  the  policy  of  direct  Imperial  control  and  himself, 
against  the  wish  at  first  of  both  Lord  Derby  and  John  Mackenzie,  in- 
sisted upon  the  appointment  of  the  latter  as  the  first  Imperial  Deputy- 
Commissioner  in  Bechuanaland.  It  is  evident  that  at  this  time  Sir 
Hercules  imagined  that  the  Boers  would  be  quieted  and  satisfied  by  the 
policy  of  acceding  to  their  demands  on  many  important  and  even  vital 
matters,  and  that  he  wrould  still  be  able  to  maintain  the  British  suprem- 
acy by  the  new  policy  of  initiating  direct  Imperial  administration  of 
native  territories. 

'When  he  reached  Cape  Town  he  found  the  Dutch  party  full  of  en- 
thusiasm over  the  remarkable  gains  which  they  had  made  in  London, 
but  thoroughly  aroused  to  the  dangers  in  which  their  further  plans 
would  be  involved  by  Robinson's  scheme  of  Imperialism.  They  pro- 
duced a  very  considerable  agitation  on  this  matter  with  the  result  that 
they  conquered  Mr.  Rhodes,  who  was  then  coming  to  the  front,  and 
Captain  Bower,  who  was  at  that  time  named  Imperial  Secretary,  and 
through  whom  under  this  title  communications  with  the  administrators 
of  the  new  Imperial  scheme  were  to  be  carried  on.  With  their  help  a 
new  policy  with  a  new  title  was  evolved  to  suit  the  emergency.  The 
policy  was  known  as  Colonial  Imperialism,  and  it  was  pursued  with 
the  utmost  vigor.  Mr.  Rhodes  did  his  utmost  to  conciliate  the  Dutch 
party  by  speaking  openly  of  "eliminating  the  Imperial  factor,"  by  which 
he  meant  of  course  the  removing  of  direct  relations  between  Great  Brit- 
ain and  native  territories  or  the  newT  colonies  in  South  Africa.  The 
policy  which  he  at  this  time  professed  was  the  one  which  he  himself 
later  finally  defeated,  of  extending  the  Cape  Colony  up  through  Bech- 
uanaland and  gradually  placing  all  South  Central  Africa  under  the 
British  flag  through  the  expansion  of  this  one  colony.  The  Dutch  of 
course,  while  never  professing  enthusiasm  for  the  scheme,  allowed  it  to 
proceed,  as  being  infinitely  preferable  to  the  other.  Sir  Hercules  Rob- 


POLITICAL   WORKERS.  261 

inson,  no  doubt  sincerely,  believed  that  once  more  he  could  win  the 
affections  of  the  Dutch  party  for  Great  Britain  by  administering  the 
pill  of  Imperialism  under  the  sweet  covering  of  colonial  expansion. 
The  result,  as  we  describe  elsewhere  in  detail,  of  the  adoption  of  this 
policy  was,  that  South  Bechuanaland  was  very  nearly  lost  to  the  British 
Empire  within  a  few  months  of  its  proclamation  as  a  British  protector- 
ate by  an  Imperial  officer.  The  only  thing  that  saved  South  Bechuana- 
land from  absorption  by  the  Transvaal  as  the  result  of  Mr.  Rhodes's 
Colonial  Imperialism,  and. the  one  thing  that  saved  Sir  Hercules  Robin- 
son's Governorship  from  an  everlasting  disgrace,  was  the  sending  out, 
against  the  wish  both  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Robinson,  of  the  Warren  expe- 
dition. The  Blue  Books  show  beyond  all  doubt  that  Sir  Charles  War- 
ren was  from  the  first  hampered  by  both  the  High  Commissioner  for 
South  Africa  and  his  Deputy  Commissioner  in  Bechuanaland  (Mr. 
Rhodes).  This,  Sir  Charles  Warren  himself  later  proved  in  public  print 
with  the  utmost  clearness.  The  result  of  that  expedition  was  the  final 
rescue  of  South  Bechuanaland  from  the  Transvaal.  It  became  a  Crown 
Colony  and  so  continued  for  about  ten  years. 

In  the  year  1888-89  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  became  interested  in  the 
magnificent  scheme  of  development  which  had  gradually  formed  in  the 
mind  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  was  kept  cognizant  of  the  various  steps  by 
which  concessions  were  being  obtained  from  Lobengula  in  Matabele- 
land.  In  April,  1889,  the  Governor  sent  a  message  to  London  announc- 
ing certain  of  these  concessions  and  clearly  hinting  that  they  might 
become  the  basis  of  a  Chartered  Company.  In  that  year  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson's  term  of  office  reached  its  close,  and  he  returned  to  England. 
Having  been  reappointed  he  returned  to  the  Cape  for  another  term  of 
seven  years.  But  to  the  amazement  of  all  he  made  a  speech  which  was 
so  full  of  anti-Imperialism,  so  amazingly  disloyal,  that  the  Dutch  could 
not  openly  defend,  though  they  rejoiced  at  it,  and  the  loyal  citizens  were 
indignant.  It  led  to  his  immediate  recall !  He  lived  in  retirement  for  six 
years  and  then  in  the  year  1894,  to  the  utter  astonishment  of  all  men,  he 
was  reappointed.  His  successor,  Sir  Henry  Loch,  afterwards  Lord 
Loch,  had  found  his  position  in  South  Africa  growing  more  and  more 
uncomfortable  for  himself.  He  could  not  work  beyond  a  certain  point 
with  Mr.  Rhodes,  nor  Mr.  Rhodes  with  him.  He  was  not  so  pliant  to  the 


262  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

purposes  of  the  millionaire  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  ruler 
of  Rhodesia. 

When  Sir  Henry  Loch  retired  Mr.  Rhodes  hastened  to  England  and 
himself  pressed  upon  the  Government  the  urgent  need  of  sending  out 
Sir  Hercules  Robinson  on  the  ground  that  he  alone  had  kept  the  peace 
between  the  Boers  and  the  English,  and  was  the  most  successful  Gov- 
ernor for  that  reason  whom  South  Africa  had  seen.  It  is  related  that 
even  President  Kruger,  in  order  to  snub  Sir  Henry  Loch,  had  spoken 
with  enthusiasm  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  as  a  man  who  always  kept  his 
word.  So  he  did — to  Mr.  Rhodes  and  the  Dutch  party.  Yet  Mr.  Kruger 
did  once,  in  1884,  call  Robinson  a  "liar,"  but  that  was  when  Robinson 
displeased  him. 

One  of  the  first  questions  brought  to  the  front  on  his  return  to  South 
Africa  wTas  that  of  annexing  the  Crown  Colony  of  Bechuanaland  to 
the  Cape  Colony.  This  annexation  was  not  desired  by  the  Cape  Col- 
onists as  a  whole;  it  was  detested  by  the  native  chiefs  with  whom  sol- 
emn Imperial  agreements  had  been  made,  and  it  was  deeply  disliked  by 
the  majority  of  whites.  But  Mr.  Rhodes  had  reasons  for  desiring  this 
annexation  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  only  reopening  the  old  policy 
of  Imperialism  through  colonial  expansion;  and  it  was  always  easy  to 
persuade  reluctant  Cape  Dutch,  if  there  were  any,  that  the  colony  would 
derive  immense  benefits  from  the  annexation.  The  scheme  was  carried 
by  a  majority  in  the  Cape  Parliament,  and  was  agreed  to  by  the  Colonial 
Office  in  London.  The  English  Government  in  this  way  once  more 
broke  faith  with  native  tribes  and  once  more  put  them  as. we  have  shown 
elsewhere  at  the  mercy  of  Dutch  prejudices  and  practices. 

The  annexation  took  place  in  October,  1895,  and  in  December  of  the 
same  year  the  Jameson  Raid  occurred.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show 
that  the  Raid  could  not  have  taken  place  if  Bechuanaland  had  not  been 
brought  out  of  Imperial  administration  into  the  power  of  Mr.  Rhodes, 
Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony!  When  this  tragic  event  threw  South 
Africa  into  tumult,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  saw  for  the  first  time  the  very 
instruments  which  he  thought  he  had  been  using  throughout  his  two 
administrations  for  reconciling  the  white  races,  used  to  cut  them  apart 
more  widely  than  ever.  The  control  of  Bechuanaland  had  been  neces- 
sary to  Mr.  Rhodes's  scheme  of  supporting  the  revolution  of  Johannes- 


GOING    TO    WORK 

The  diamond  miners  are  here  running  on  the  trolley  through  the  air.    This  mode  of  descent  is  now  only 
employed  In  what  they  call  the  open-working  mines. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  UGi. 

burg.  Colonial  Imperialism  had  been  employed  first  in  1884  to  recon- 
cile the  Dutch  in  Cape  Colony,  and  then,  in  1895,  to  overthrow  them  in 
the  Transvaal.  Mr.  Rhodes,  hailed  for  years  as  the  reconciler  of  the 
races,  stood  forth  as  their  divider.  South  Africa  was  plunged  into 
years  of  the  utmost  misery,  which  have  reached  their  deepest  darkness 
in  the  year  now  running  its  dreary  course. 

When  the  Raid  took  place  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  as  soon  as  possible 
rushed  to  Pretoria.  He  came  upon  the  scene  there  at  a  time  of  extraordi- 
nary excitement  and  intense  anxiety.  He  was  commanded  by  the  Brit- 
ish Government  to  repudiate  all  connection  with  the  Raid  and  its  insti- 
gators. At  the  same  time  it  was  his  duty  to  obtain  from  President 
Kruger  as  lenient  a  treatment  as  possible  of  the  Outlanders  who  had 
plunged  into  this  difficulty,  and  to  claim  that  the  British  subjects  who 
had  invaded  the  Transvaal  or  rather  their  leaders  and  officers  should  be 
sent  to  London  for  trial  and  punishment. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Sir  Hercules  Robinson's  past  friendliness 
towards  the  Boers  gave  him  some  grace  even  amid  this  heat  of  passion 
in  the  eyes  of  President  Kruger.  On  the  other  hand,  there  seems  abund- 
ant proof  that  he  once  more  gained  the  apparent  good  will  of  the  Dutch 
by  avoiding  an  insistent  tone  when  appealing  on  behalf  of  the  Outland- 
ers. They  have  ever  since  maintained  that  he  allowed  President  Kru- 
ger to  break  faith  writh  them  and  that  pledges  made  when  they  expected 
that  the  High  Commissioner  would  see  them  fulfilled,  were  quietly  ig- 
nored. When  the  trial  of  the  Raiders  took  place  in  London  and  when 
the  special  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  investigated  the  whole 
transaction,  next  to  the  question  regarding  the  complicity  of  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain, there  was  most  interest  in  the  question  whether  the  Queen's  rep- 
resentative in  South  Africa  had  also  been  mixed  up  in  the  affair  or  not. 
Mr.  Rhodes  could  easily  prove  that  all  his  dealings  with  the  Govern- 
ment House  at  Cape  Town  had  been  through  the  Imperial  Secretary,  the 
same  Sir  Graham  Bower  with  whom  he  had  co-operated  for  so  many 
years  in  adapting  Imperial  policies  to  Cape  politics.  It  was  not  quite 
so  easy  for  the  Imperial  Secretary  to  prove  that  he  had  kept  the  entire 
correspondence  and  scheme  absolutely  secret  from  his  chief,  Sir  Her- 
cules Robinson.  But  on  the  other  hand,  he  did  before  the  committee 
very  strenuously  maintain  the  position  which  he  had  assumed,  bravely 


266  POLITICAL   WORKERS. 

taking  the  entire  responsibility  upon  his  own  shoulders.  This  story  has 
yet  to  be  made  public,  and  then  it  will  be  known  wrhether  the  poor,  aged 
High  Commissioner  was  actually  used  as  a  tool  by  his  subordinates 
without  his  knowledge,  or  whether  he  had  once  more  been  persuaded  by 
their  stronger  wills  and  determined  purposes  to  acquiesce  in  proceed- 
ings which  his  strict  official,  mind  ought  to  have  cast  utterly  away 
as  impossibilities.  In  spite  of  breaking  health  and  the  unenviable  posi- 
tion in  which  he  found  himself,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  held  on  in  his 

* 

office,  striving  hard  to  assuage  somewhat  the  extreme  bitterness  which 
had  once  more  broken  out  between  the  South  African  white  races.  In 
the  year  1897,  "foiled  by  his  fellow  men,  depressed,  out-worn,"  this  aged 
servant  of  the  Queen  left  the  "brutal  wrorld  to  take  its  way"  in  South 
Africa,  and  retired  under  the  title  of  Lord  Rosmead  into  private  life. 
He  died  before  the  end  of  the  year. 

SECTION    V.      OLIVE   SCHREINER. 

One  of  the  best  known  names  and  the  only  famous  literary  name 
of  South  Africa,  is  that  of  Olive  Schreiner.  This  is  her  maiden 
name,  and  she,  in  a  fashion,  retains  it,  for  on  her  marriage  her 
husband  and  she  united  their  surnames  into  one,  and  they  are  known 
as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cronwright  Schreiner.  Her  father  wras  a  Lutheran 
minister  in  Cape  Town.  Her  mother  was  an  English  lady  whose  former 
name  was  Lyndall.  Some  time  after  her  husband's  death  she  went 
over  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  retired  to  a  convent  at  Gra- 
hamstown.  It  is  her  name  (Lyndall)  that  Olive  Schreiner  after- 
wards gave  to  the  principal  character  in  her  famous  novel.  She  early 
left  her  home  for  the  purpose  of  teaching,  and  wThile  thus  occupied  gave 
much  time  to  very  earnest  and  wide  reading  in  modern  literature  and 
philosophy.  Possessed  of  a  very  intense  and  enthusiastic  nature  she 
threw  herself  into  the  deepest  controversies  with  her  whole  heart  and 
soul. 

While  yet  in  her  teens  the  fashionable  radicalism  in  matters  of  faith 
stirred  her  soul;  it  found  passionate  expression  in  the  year  1883  in  her 
famous  and  fascinating  book  entitled  "The  Story  of  an  African  Farm, 
by  Ralph  Iron."  Nowhere  else  can  one  find  a  description  so  faithful, 
so  vivid,  so  thrilling  of  life  on  a  frontier  farm  in  South  Africa  as  in 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  267 

this  book.  Seldom  has  a  rebellious  young  soul  poured  out  its  indigna- 
tion against  rigidity  and  insincerity  in  belief,  or  against  those  habits 
of  social  life  which  it  deemed  senseless  and  hurtful,  with  more  eloquence 
or  more  terrible  earnestness.  The  book  by  reason  at  once  of  its  literary 
power,  its  brilliant  descriptive  passages  and  its  bold  utterances  of  a 
heart's  rebellion  against  the  horrid  facts  of  life  attracted  great  atten- 
tion. After  her  fame  was  made,  Olive  Schreiner  went  to  England  and 
there  lived  for  a  considerable  period..  She  has  written  various  works, 
but  none  comes  up  to  her  first  stroke  of  genius.  Her  little  book  entitled 
"Dreams,"  published  in  1890,  consists  of  a  somewhat  ambitious  series 
of  spiritual  allegories.  While  beautiful  and  impressive  they  are  too 
slight,  with  too  little  real  body  of  thought  in  them,  to  give  them  a  per- 
manent position  in  literature. 

At  a  later  date  she  wrote  her  extraordinary  book  entitled  "Trooper 
Peter  Halkett,"  which  one  may  describe  as  a  novel  with  a  purpose. 
The  story  is  very  slight.  There  is  scarcely  any  plot,  and  what  there 
is  has  elements  in  it  which  mar  its  unity  and  its  value  as  a  work  of 
art.  The  book,  however,  is  really  a  pamphlet,  an  utterance  of  Olive 
Schreiner's  political  views.  At  one  time  a  warm  admirer  of  Mr.  Rhodes 
she  came  to  regard  him  as  the  most  dangerous  man  in  South  Africa, 
and  believes  so  to-day.  While  recognizing  his  extraordinary  power  she 
has  had  her  eyes  opened  to  the  sinister  side  of  his  influence.  She  views 
him  chiefly  as  controlled  by  the  master  passion  for  gold,  and  believes 
that  he  has  subordinated  the  interests  of  South  African  politics  from 
Cape  TowTn  to  the  Zambesi  to  his  schemes  as  a  capitalist.  She  has  seen 
him  organize  the  Jameson  Raid,  as  she  believed,  in  order  to  overthrow 
the  Transvaal  Government  and  obtain  control  of  it  for  himself  and  his 
fellow  capitalists.  She  has  seen  him  send  his  pioneers  into  Mashona- 
land  and  Matabeleland  and  there  engage  in  one  war  after  another 
writh  the  natives,  his  chartered  company's  servants  who  spread  them- 
selves over  the  land  treating  the  natives  as  dogs  under  their  feet.  She 
has  seen  in  this  way  Mr.  Rhodes's  brilliant  scheme  of  Imperialism 
through  the  Colonial  Parliament  and  the  Chartered  Company  worked 
by  him  she  believes  to  the  disgrace  of  the  Imperial  name  and  the  hurt  of 
South  African  races  both  white  and  black. 

Nowhere  does  the  difference  between  the  Colonial  and  Imperial 


268  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

attitude  towards  the  natives  receive  more  powerful  expression  than  in 
the  following  words  of  her  hero,  Peter  Halkett:  "Now,  he  (Mr.  Rhodes) 
is  death  on  niggers;  they  say  when  he  was  Prime  Minister  down  in  the 
Colony  he  tried  to  pass  a  law  that  would  give  masters  and  mistresses 
the  right  to  have  their  servants  flogged  whenever  they  did  anything 
they  did  not  like;  but  the  other  Englishmen  would  not  let  him  pass  it. 
But  here  he  can  do  what  he  likes.  That  is  the  reason  some  of  the 
fellows  don't  want  him  to  be  sent  away.  They  say,  'If  we  get  the  British 
Government  here  they  will  be  giving  the  niggers  land  to  live  on;  and 
let  them  have  a  vote  and  get  civilized  and  educated,  and  all  that  sort 
of  thing;  but  Cecil  Rhodes,  he  will  keep  their  noses  to  the  grindstone!' 
I  prefer  land  to  niggers,  he  says  (an  actual  saying  of  Mr.  Rhodes).  They 
say  he's  going  to  parcel  them  out  and  make  them  work  on  our  lands, 
whether  they  like  it  or  not,  just  as  good  as  having  slaves,  you  know; 
and  you  haven't  the  bother  of  looking  after  them  when  they're  old. 
Now,  there  I'm  with  Rhodes;  I  think  it's  an  awfully  good  move.  We 
don't  come  out  here  to  work;  it's  all  very  well  in  England;  but  we've 
come  here  to  make  money,  and  how  are  we  to  make  it  unless  you  get 
niggers  to  work  for  you  or  start  a  syndicate.  He's  death  on  niggers,  is 
Rhodes!  *  *  *  You  can  do  what  you  like  with  the  niggers,  pro- 
vided you  don't  get  him  into  trouble." 

Mrs.  Cronwright  Schreiner  has  viewed  all  recent  events  from  this 
point  of  view.  She  has  in  recent  years  transferred  her  home  from 
Kimberley  to  Johannesburg,  and  in  each  place  she  has  seen  in  every 
public  movement  the  master  hand  of  the  irresistible  Cecil  Rhodes. 
Brought  up  to  love  the  Dutch,  and  trained  by  later  experience  to  love 
the  Queen's  Government,  she  has  viewed  with  the  dismay  of  a  wounded 
love  the  crash  of  bitterness  between  these  two  who  should  have  been, 
and  for  the  good  of  South  Africa  must  be,  united  in  confidence  as  they 
are  united  in  interest.  She  has,  therefore,  during  the  events  of  the 
last  twelve  months,  poured  out  her  indignation  in  one  public  utterance 
after  another,  condemning  in  the  most  sweeping  and  scathing  manner 
the  entire  proceedings  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Mr.  Chamberlain,  of  the  agi- 
tators at  Johannesburg  and  of  their  dupes  and  tools,  as  she  believes, 
in  London. 

Olive  Schreiner  is  said  by  all  who  know  her  to  possess  a  most 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  269 

striking  and  delightful  personality.  She  is  thus  described  by  one  who 
came  to  know  her  well  during  a  long  voyage:  "Her  features  are  clear 
cut  and  strong,  her  figure  below  the  average  height,  her  eyes  as  deep 
as  dark  Derwentwater,  and  capable  of  storm  as  well  as  love.  Her  voice 
is  buoyant  and  clear;  her  face  as  open  as  a  child's,  and  as  swift  in  its 
responsive  expression  of  light  and  shade,  yet  marked  by  reserve  of 
strength  and  will  force.  You  find  in  her  none  of  the  marks  of  literary 
pedantry.  She  draws  you  on  to  your  best  and  truest,  and  is  ready  to 
join  you  whether  upon  the  ground  of  woman's  world,  the  pleasures  of 
England,  or  the  deep  things  of  Buddha — but  you  must  not  rashly  refer 
to  her  own  writings,  especially  her  'African  Farm.' " 

Perhaps  the  deepest  passion  of  Olive  Schreiner's  life  in  recent  years 
has  been  the  longing  to  see  the  reconciliation  of  the  white  races  of 
South  Africa.  She  has  noted  with  enthusiasm  every  sign  of  love  for 
the  Queen  manifested  by  Dutch  farmers,  every  expression  of  confidence 
in  the  British  Government  and  every  movement  towards  sympathetic 
action  with  English  Afrikanders.  Hence  one  can  understand  the  truth 
of  the  assertion  that  she  is  nearly  broken  hearted  over  the  horror  and 
shame  of  the  present  war.  To  her  it  appears  as  the  setting  back  of  the 
clock,  the  opening  of  the  wound  that  was  nearly  healed,  the  rousing  of 
a  hatred  which  had  been  long  undergoing  a  quiet  transformation  into 
love.  To  this  high  calling  it  may  be  said  that  Olive  Schreiner  is  pre- 
pared to  devote  her  genius  and  all  the  years  of  her  life. 

SECTION    VI.      SIR    THEOPHILUS   SHEPSTONE, 

Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  was  one  of  the  many  able  administrators 
whom  clerical  families  have  given  to  South  Africa.  His  father,  the 
Kev.  William  Shepstone,  emigrated  from  England  to  the  Cape  in  the 
year  1820,  and  became  a  devoted  laborer  among  the  blacks.  Young 
Shepstone  was  therefore  in  a  large  measure  educated  at  the  native  mis- 
sions, acquiring  in  this  way  a  marvelous  knowledge  of  the  various 
dialects  of  South  Africa.  Two  of  the  most  marked  tendencies  of  Shep- 
stone's  character  are  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  English  and  not  South 
African  by  birth,  and  to  the  other  fact  that  he  was  educated  by  the  mis- 
sionaries side  by  side  with  the  native  boys. 


270  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

To  the  first  fact  is  due  his  English  patriotism,  his  constant  desire  to 
serve  the  Mother  Country,  his  conception  of  the  British  Empire  as  a 
great  unity  long  before  such  a  thought  had  entered  the  consciousness 
of  the  home-staying  British  themselves.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that 
the  British  Empire  is  federating  from  without  rather  than  from  within. 
It  is  not  the  central  Government  in  London  that  seeks  to  impose  a  closer 
bond;  it  is  the  outlying  colonies  themselves  that  first  become  conscious 
of  a  desire  to  cling  closer  to  the  country  that  gave  them  birth,  both  for 
their  own  sake  and  for  hers.  This  desire  animated  Shepstone  all 
through  his  political  life.  He  never  forgot  that  he  was  an  Englishman. 
It  was  this  desire  that  made  him  fall  in  so  readily  with  Lord  Carnarvon's 
confederation  plan,  and,  as  a  preliminary  to  that,  led  him  to  annex  the 
Transvaal. 

To  the  second  prominent  fact  of  his  early  years,  his  education  at  the 
native  missions,  is  due  that  marvelous  influence  which  he  exercised  over 
the  native  mind.  It  was  through  the  possession  of  this  single  and  re- 
markable quality  that  he  became  a  power  in  South  Africa,  for  few  have 
ever  handled  the  natives  as  he  did.  All  over  the  Empire  Britain  has 
had  men  who  by  sympathy,  knowledge,  and,  above  all,  matchless  nerve, 
could  enter  into  the  native  mind,  get  a  grip  on  it,  and  so  drive  it  where 
they  would.  Shepstone  was  one  of  these  men.  He  did  not  think  as  a 
white  man  and  then  translate  his  thoughts  into  Kaffir  like  the  average 
Bureaucrat;  when  need  be,  he  could,  by  an  uncanny  intuition,  go  right 
into  the  native  mind  and  think  what  it  was  thinking.  The  influence 
which  this  gave  him  among  the  blacks  was  obviously  enormous.  And 
he  never  abused  it — he  did  all  in  his  power  to  protect  the  natives — in- 
deed, it  was  the  desire  to  protect  the  natives  from  the  Boers  as  well  as 
his  desire  to  extend  British  influence  that  led  him  to  annex  the  Trans- 
vaal. The  natives  repaid  him  with  a  like  devotion.  To  them  he  was 
always  "the  white  father." 

As  an  example  of  the  mysterious  power  which  Shepstone  could  bring 
to  bear  on  the  native  mind  there  is  no  better  story  than  that  which  re- 
counts how  he  subdued  an  angry  Zulu  host  that  was  thirsting  for  his 
blood.  He  was  alone,  one  white  man  in  the  midst  of  thousands  of 
savages.  When  he  rose  to  speak  the  white  teeth  and  eyes  gleamed 
ferociously  in  the  black  faces,  making  a  strange  ring  of  fierceness  round 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  271 

him.  He  began  by  speaking  their  own  thoughts  to  them;  how  easy  it 
wrould  be  for  them  to  kill  him.  "But,"  he  said,  and  pointed  to  the  sea, 
"for  every  little  drop  of  my  blood  that  you  shed  a  white  army  wjll  come 
across  yonder  sea  and  will  slay  you  utterly."  Every  eye  turned  sea- 
ward, expecting  that  very  moment  to  see  the  swift  oncoming  of  the 
avenging  hosts.  Few  orators  have  ever  had  such  a  compliment  paid 
them,  have  ever  produced  an  effect  so  immediate  and  telling.  Shep- 
stone  was  allowed  to  go.  And  from  that  moment  the  natives  would 
have  died  for  him. 

Owing  to  his  skill  as  a  linguist  Shepstone  was  made  headquarters' 
interpreter  of  Kaffir  languages  at  Cape  Town  in  1835.  On  the  day  that 
he  was  appointed  to  this  responsible  post,  the  8th  of  January,  he  com- 
pleted his  eighteenth  year.  He  distinguished  himself  in  the  Kaffir 
war  of  1834-5  by  leading  a  party  of  volunteers  to  rescue  the  whites  shut 
up  in  Wesleyville,  and,  as  a  reward,  was  made  clerk  to  the  Agent 
General.  It  was  in  1838,  when  he  was  only  twenty,  that  Shepstone 
began  what  was  destined  to  prove  his  lifelong  connection  with  Natal. 
A  British  force  under  Major  Charteris  occupied  Natal  temporarily  in 
1838,  and  a  skilled  native  age'nt  was  required  to  deal  with  the  Natal 
natives.  Shepstone's  previous  services  had  marked  him  out,  young  as 
he  was,  as  the  best  man  for  the  post,  and  accordingly  he  was  appointed. 
He  acquitted  himself  so  well  that  when  Natal  was  constituted  a  separ- 
ate Government  in  1845  he  was  made  agent  for  the  native  tribes.  In 
1856,  when  the  powers  of  the  Natal  Government  were  enlarged,  Shep- 
stone became  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs,  and  a  member  of  the  Execu- 
tive and  Legislative  Councils.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he  met 
with  a  good  deal  of  opposition  from  sentimentalists,  who  wished  to 
change  a  good  Zulu  into  a  bad  European  by  the  simple  process  of  rig- 
ging him  out  in  an  old  pair  of  pantaloons.  But  Shepstone  was  a  strong 
man  and  would  not  allow  himself  to  be  driven.  He  maintained  that 
civilization  must  go  slow,  if  it  is  to  go  sure,  among  the  black  population. 
Old  customs  must  not  be  swept  violently  away,  else  the  black,  deprived 
of  tribal  habit  and  not  yet  sustained  by  a  new  rule  of  conduct,  will  be 
left  without  any  guidance  whatsoever.  Therefore  black  customs,  un- 
less they  are  monstrously  offensive  to  morality  and  good  government, 
are  not  to  be  lightly  meddled  with.  In  this,  as  in  other  cases,  Shep- 


272  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

stone  was  actuated  by  his  extraordinary  feeling  for  what  was  going  on 
in  the  inside  of  the  Kaffir's  mind. 

In  1872  Shepstone  was  sent  into  Zululand  to  arrange  for  the  peace- 
ful succession  of  Cetywayo.  He  acquired  an  enormous  influence  over 
Cetywayo's  mind,  and  thus  we  see  the  two  influences  that  animated 
Shepstone's  life  coming  together  to  produce  a  single  and  definite  result. 
His  power  over  the  natives  now  conies  to  the  aid  of  his  Imperial  pa- 
triotism, and  helps  him  to  aggrandize  Britain  by  annexing  the  Trans- 
vaal, for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Shepstone  scared  the  Boers  by 
asking  what  would  happen  "if  he  withdrew  his  hand  from  Cetywayo," 
and  so  made  them  more  willing  to  come  under  English  authority. 

Shepstone  had  doubtless  been  encouraged  in  his  Transvaal  scheme 
by  the  visit  he  paid  to  London,  in  1876,  to  represent  Natal  at  the  con- 
ference on  South  African  affairs.  Lord  Carnarvon,  then  Colonial  Sec- 
retary, wished  to  confederate  South  Africa  on  the  same  lines  as  Can- 
ada. As  the  Transvaal  was  bankrupt,  unable  to  defend  itself,  and  a 
source  of  weakness  to  the  other  white  states  in  South  Africa;  and  as, 
further,  nearly  3,000  voters  out  of  a  total  of  8,000  were  asking  for  Brit- 
ish intervention,  it  cannot  be  said  that  it  was  a  wrong  or  a  foolish  move 
on  the  part  of  Shepstone  to  further  Carnarvon's  designs  by  taking  over 
the  Boer  Government.  The  only  charge  that  can  be  brought  against 
him  is  that  he  acted  with  undue  precipitancy.  It  is  confidently  said 
that  if  he  had  waited  six  months,  the  troubles  of  the  Boers  would  have 
been  so  pressing  that  not  three  but  seven  thousand  Boers  would  have 
been  praying  for  his  intervention.  In  that  case  the  Boers  could  not 
have  turned  round  afterwards  and  said  that  the  annexation  was 
against  their  will.  True;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that  if  Shep- 
stone's promise  to  the  Boers  had  been  carried  out  at  once  they  never 
would  have  had  occasion  to  turn  round  and  protest  against  the  annexa- 
tion. Shepstone  promised  them  representative  government — and  he 
meant  them  to  have  it,  too.  He  drafted  a  constitution  for  the  Trans- 
vaal, but  it  was  pigeon-holed  in  London  and  forgotten.  Then  Shep- 
stone was  superseded,  and,  for  various  reasons,  his  designs  were  not 
carried  out  by  his  successors.  And  so  the  Boers  rose  in  revolt ;  but  the 
fault  was  not  Shepstone's. 

He  retired  from  public  service  in  1880,  and  lived  in  retirement  until 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  273 

his  death  in  1893.  That  retirement  was  only  broken  once — when  he 
was  asked  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  reinstating  the  deposed  Cety wayo 
as  chief  of  the  Zulus.  He  had  been  made  a  Knight  of  the  Cross  of  St. 
Michael  and  St.  George  in  1876. 

SECTION    VII.      HON.  W.   P.   SCHREINER. 

The  present  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape  Colon}-  is  a  native  of  South 
Africa,  His  father  was  a  Lutheran  minister  who  had  five  children, 
all  of  whom  in  one  way  or  another  have  already  made  their  mark 
in  South  African  history.  There  are  three  brothers,  of  whom  the 
eldest  is  an  eminent  educationalist  and  the  other  an  enthusiastic 
preacher.  There  are  two  sisters,  the  elder  of  whom  has  devoted  her  life 
to  the  cause  of  temperance  and  has  exercised  remarkable  influence  upon 
the  lives  of  many  who  have  become  victims  of  the  drink  craving.  The 
younger  sister  is  the  far-famed  writer  Olive  Schreiuer.  The  five  broth- 
ers and  sisters  are  known  for  their  strong  individuality  and  the  utter 
frankness  with  which  they  express  their  differences  of  opinion  to  one 
another.  Yet  this  is  done  without  creating  bitter  divisions  in  the 
family  affections.  For  example,  the  two  sisters  stand  on  opposite  sides 
in  their  judgment  of  the  necessity  of  the  present  war.  W.  P.  Schreiner, 
the  Prime  Minister,  is  supported  in  his  political  life  by  the  Afrikander 
Bond,  while  one  of  his  elder  brothers,  Thomas,  has  recently  put  on 
public  record  the  fact  that  in  1881  he  declined  to  join  the  Afrikander 
Bond  because  he  saw  that  its  constitution  implied  disloyalty  to  the 
Queen ;  and  Mr.  Reitz,  afterwards  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State, 
and  at  present  Secretary  in  President  Kruger's  Government,  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  Bond,  was  unwilling  to  deny  that  this  might  be  the  case. 

While  yet  a  lad  W.  P.  Schreiner  made  his  way  to  Kimberley  and 
worked  for  several  years  in  the  mines  there.  But  this  was  a  mere  epi- 
sode in  his  career.  The  trend  of  his  mind  was  in  an  entirely  different 
direction,  for  he  turned  to  the  study  of  law  and  made  his  profession  of 
a  barrister  the  basis  of  his  career.  He  was  not  long  in  coming  to  the 
front  as  a  legal  adviser  and  served  in  this  capacity  both  with  Sir  Henry 
Loch  and  Sir  Francis  De  Winton  during  the  prolonged  negotiations  re- 
garding Swaziland.  From  both  of  these  gentlemen  he  received  high 
praise  for  his  services. 


274  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

In  1893  he  became  the  leader  of  the  Cape  bar  in  point  of  practice,  and 
in  that  year  he  reached  the  high  position  of  official  head  in  Mr.  Rhodes's 
cabinet.  He  had  already  for  some  years  been  a  member  of  the  Cape 
Parliament  as  a  representative  of  Kiinberley  and  had  acted  also  as 
Attorney-General. 

Critics  of  his  style  affirm  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
Mr.  Schreiner's  manner  as  a  speaker  when  he  pleads  in  the  courts  of 
law  and  when  he  addresses  the  Cape  Legislature.  In  the  former  he 
appears  as  the  quiet,  judicial,  self-restrained  conversationalist,  while 
in  the  latter  his  voice  is  loud,  his  style  rhetorical,  his  tone  aggressive 
and  insistent.  Like  many  able  members  of  small  houses  of  legislature 
he  is  said  to  be  somewhat  domineering  in  manner  and  unable  to  endure 
criticism  and  opposition. 

In  the  beginning  of  1896  when  the  Jameson  Raid  broke  out  it  was 
Mr.  Schreiner  who  visited  his  former  chief  and  found  him  in  that  condi- 
tion of  despair,  as  if  all  his  hopes  were  broken,  and  uttering  piteous, 
affectionate  complainings  against  his  friend  Dr.  Jameson,  which  Mr. 
Schreiner  afterwards  described  to  the  world.  He  came  to  London  and 
gave  evidence  before  the  select  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in 
the  following  year.  In  the  year  following  that  again  (1898)  Mr. 
Schreiner  brought  forward  a  motion  expressing  want  of  confidence  in 
Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  the  Prime  Minister  who  had  succeeded  Mr.  Rhodes. 
He  denounced  the  administration  of  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  for  three-quar- 
ters of  an  hour  in  the  most  unsparing  fashion,  denied  that  the  issue 
before  the  country  as'  between  the,  two  parties  was  that  of  British 
supremacy,  affirmed  that  he  and  his  friends  and  the  whole  Bond  party 
were  as  firmly  attached  to  the  Queen  and  flag  as  the  Progressives,  who 
claimed  that  virtue  as  their  monopoly.  He  had  by  this  time  completely 
broken  with  Mr.  Rhodes  and  lost  no  opportunity  of  denouncing  the 
policy  by  which  Mr.  Rhodes  had  for  so  long  hypnotized  the  Dutch  party 
in  Cape  Town  while  preparing  to  strike  a  fatal  blow  at  Dutch  supremacy 
in  the  Transvaal.  As  a  result  of  the  strong  agitation  which  in  and  out 
of  the  House  Mr.  Schreiner  kept  up  against  the  party  formerly  led  by 
Mr.  Rhodes,  he  was  at  the  next  election  carried  by  a  considerable 
mnjority  into  office  and  became  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape  Colony. 
It  is  well  known  of  course  that  there  he  has  reigned  by  grace  of  Mr. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  275 

Hofmeyr  and  that  the  latter  has  a  price  for  all  the  favors  which  he 
extends. 

When  in  October,  1898,  Mr.  Schreiner  made  a  declaration  of  his  party 
policy  he  laid  emphasis  upon  the  fact  that  they  would  endeavor  to 
maintain,  departmentally  and  as  a  Government,  friendly  relations  be- 
tween Cape  Colony  and  Rhodesia,  He  recognized  of  course  that  his 
predecessor  by  opening  up  those  northern  territories  had  once  for  all 
changed  the  balance  of  power  in  South  Africa  and  that  the  day  would 
speedily  come  when  the  Cape  Colony  could  not  stand  out  as  pre-emi- 
nently the  most  powerful  European  community  in  South.  Africa.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  phases  of  recent  history  in  South  Africa  is  this 
loss  by  the  Cape  Colony  of  its  ancient  position  as  the  dominant  force  in 
South  African  development,  and  the  loss  is  not  being  accepted  without 
many  an  effort  to  prevent  it.  Hence  it  was  not  an  unnecessary  asser- 
tion which  Mr.  Schreiner  made,  when  he  assured  the  public  that  the 
Cape  Government  would  in  no  way  attempt  to  interfere  with  the  prog- 
ress of  Rhodesia.  Towards  the  two  Dutch  Republics  he  expressed  cor- 
dial sympathies.  His  Government  would  recognize  the  autonomy  and 
independence  of  the  two  sister  States,  and  he  trusted  to  be  able  to 
foster  a  condition  of  mutual  good  feeling  between  the  older  Colony  and 
the  two  Republics. 

As  the  cloud  of  this  war  began  to  spread  over  the  South  African  sky 
Mr.  Schreiner's  position  as  Prime  Minister  became  exceedingly  difficult 
and  full  of  delicate  problems  for  himself  and  others.  He  exerted  him- 
self to  the  utmost  to  prevent  the  negotiations  of  1899  from  developing 
into  an  open  rupture  and  so  strongly  did  he  press  the  need  of  patience 
upon  Sir  Alfred  Milner  and  the  British  Government  that  it  looked  at 
one  time  as  if  he  must  resign  his  office  in  order  to  maintain  his  self- 
respect.  But  a  deep  sense  of  duty  to  his  country  undoubtedly  restrained 
him  from  what  would  have  been  the  rash  and  most  dangerous  step  of 
resignation.  By  retaining  his  position  as  Prime  Minister  and  from  that 
high  station  voicing  the  sentiments  of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  he  has  done 
more  by  far  than  at  present  can  be  appreciated  to  steady  the  Dutch 
sentiment  in  the  Colony  and  to  prevent  disaffection  from  spreading 
through  the  land.  It  may  be  that  when  the  war  is  over  among  the  repu- 
tations that  have  been  strengthened  and  among  the  characters  that 


2TG  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

have  been  more  highly  developed  by  the  strain  of  the  tremendous  respon- 
sibilities and  self-sacrifice  imposed  by  patriotism  we  must  number  W.  P. 
Schreiner,  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape  Colony. 

SECTION    VIII.      SIR   JOHN    G.   SPRIGG. 

Like  many  well-known  South  Africans,  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  was 
sent  out  to  that  land  in  his  youth  in  search  of  health.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  Nonconformist  minister  at  Ipswich  in  England;  he  first 
entered  into  general  business  and  then,  in  1856,  went  to  London  to 
serve  on  Gurney's  staff  of  reporters  in  the  committee  rooms  of  the 
Houses  of  Parliament.  It  was  here  that  he  fell  seriously  ill  and,  his 
lungs  being  affected,  was  driven  to  seek  recovery  in  a  sunnier  clime. 
He  settled  in  Kaffraria  as  a  farmer  and  there  married  a  Miss  Fleischer. 
In  1873,  one  year  after  the  Cape  Colony  received  the  full  Constitution 
of  a  responsible  government,  Mr.  Sprigg  was  elected  as  member  of  the 
Legislature  from  East  London.  He  has  remained  continuously  in 
the  Colonial  Parliament  from  that  day  to  this. 

In  1878  he  was  suddenly  called  upon  by  Sir  Bartle  Frere  to  the  high 
post  of  Prime  Minister.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  had  just  compelled  his  Min- 
isters to  resign  office  on  grounds  which  constitutional  lawyers  have  since 
defended  as  of  vast  importance  to  the  safe  conduct  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Empire  in  the  Colony.  Nevertheless  Frere's  strong  act  which  demanded 
coolness  and  courage  on  his  part,  produced  a  large  amount  of  temporary 
irritation  and  of  course  the  new  Prime  Minister  had  to  face  his  task  in 
unpleasant  circumstances.  Mr.  Sprigg,  however,  retained  his  office  as 
Prime  Minister  and  Colonial  Secretary  for  three  years. 

In  1881  the  difficulties  which  had  lasted  so  long  between  the  Basutos 
and  the  Cape  Government  reached  a  crisis.  The  Prime  Minister  had 
passed  through  the  Cape  Parliament  in  the  preceding  year  an 'act  of 
disarmament  under  which  all  native  tribes  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Colonial  Ministry  were  to  be  deprived  not  only  of  their  guns  but  also 
of  their  native  weapons,  the  assegais  and  kerries.  This  arose  from  the 
widespread  disturbances  which  in  those  years  were  arousing  the  Bantu 
races  into  hostile  activity  towards  the  whites  in  various  parts  of  South 
Africa.  The  result  of  the  unpleasantness  was  that  Mr.  Sprigg  resigned 
his  post.  In  1883  his  successors,  among  whom  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  held 


POLITICAL   WORKERS.  277 

office,  were  compelled  to  give  up  Basutoland  to  the  British  Government. 

Mr.  Sprigg  in  order  to  carry  his  act  into  operation  felt  it  necessary  to 
visit  Basutoland  in  person.  He  appeared  at  Maseru  and  there,  through 
an  interpreter,  addressed  a  large  pitso  or  general  assembly  of  the  tribe. 
In  vain  he  argued  with  them  in  favor  of  his  scheme  of  disarmament. 
They  resented  alike  the  plan  and  the  reasons  adduced  for  it.  Indeed 
many  of  the  chiefs  treated  him  with  considerable  freedom  in  their 
speeches,  making  numerous  remarks  of  a  character  which  the  judicious 
interpreters  took  care  not  to  translate.  In  the  year  1884  when  his 
friend  Sir  Thomas  Uppington  became  Prime  Minister,  Mr.  Sprigg  ap- 
peared once  more  on  the  Government  bench  as  Treasurer-General.  In 
1886  he  succeeded  that  brilliant  and  versatile  Irishman  in  the  high 
office  of  Prime  Minister  and  held  it  until  1890,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes. 

At  the  time  of  the  Queen's  jubilee  year,  1887,  Mr.  Sprigg  took 
part  in  the  celebrations  in  London  and  received  knighthood  in  honor 
of  the  event.  During  this  period  of  official  responsibility  Sir  Gordon 
Sprigg  paid  much  attention  to  the  question  of  railway  development  and 
proposed  a  relatively  large  scheme  for  the  construction  of  new  lines  and 
the  extension  of  existing  railways  in  South  Africa.  The  colonists, 
however,  especially  the  Dutch  farmers,  shrank  from  raising  so  large  a 
sum  as  £10,000.000  (about  $50,000,000).  The  scheme  was  therefore 
thrown  out  and  he  was  compelled  to  resign. 

Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  failed  in  the  tactics  of  an  opposition  leader,  and 
besides  was  unhappy  under  the  shadow  of  defeat.  The  hour  came, 
therefore,  when  his  hostility  to  Mr.  Rhodes  cooled  and  the  latter  seized 
the  opportunity  to  appoint  him  once  more  to  the  office  of  Treasurer, 
where  he  remained  until  January,  1896.  In  that  year  Mr.  Rhodes,  as 
the  result  of  the  Jameson  Raid,  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  office,  and 
Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  became  his  successor.  In  1898,  however,  when 
fresh  elections  took  place,  the  revival  of  Dutch  enthusiasm,  which  had 
been  caused  by  the  Jameson  Raid,  brought  a  strong  majority  into  power 
for  the  support  of  the  Afrikander  Bond;  as  a  consequence  Sir  Gordon 
Sprigg  was  immediately  driven  from  office  and  the  present  Prime  Min- 
ister, Mr.  W.  P.  Schreiner,  took  his  place. 

A  glance  over  this  story  of  his  career  throws  into  prominence  the 


278  POLITICAL   WORKERS. 

frequency  with  which  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  has  been  in  and  out  of  office, 
a  fact  which  creates  in  many  minds  an  unfavorable  impression  of  his 
character.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  loves  to  be  in  office  and  that 
he  has  sometimes  appeared  to  give  up  his  principles  of  to-day  in  order 
to  accept  office  to-morrow.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  party 
politics  in  Oape  Colony  have  not  always  proceeded  upon  large  and 
clearly  defined  differences  of  policy,  and  hence  that  the  man  who  opposes 
a  ministry  on  one  measure  may  agree  with  them  on  another  line  of  legis- 
lation. Nevertheless,  while  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  Sir  Gordon 
Sprigg  has  not  used  his  position  for  self-enrichment  and  has  preserved 
his  personal  honor  without  stain,  he  has  laid  himself  open  to  criticism 
for  the  ease  with  which  he  has  stepped  into  office  under  or  along  with 
those  whom  he  had  opposed. 

Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  holds  strong  views  regarding  the  development 
of  what  is  known  as  Imperial  Federation.  He  hopes  to  see  the  day,  that 
is,  when  all  the  colonies  of  the  Empire  shall  be  represented  in  an  Im- 
perial Parliament  in  London,  and  when  in  this  way  the  Empire  shall  be 
bound  into  a  closer  organic  unity  than  exists  at  present. 

In  appearance  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  is  lithe  and  wiry  and  his  features 
are  fine  and  pleasing.  In  the  House  he  speaks  quietly,  and  an  occasional 
smile  lights  up  his  kindly  eyes.  His  hair  is  now  an  iron  gray  and  is  a 
reminder  that  the  ex-Prime  Minister  is  growing  old.  His  chief  power 
is  shown  in  attention  to  the  details  of  administrative  work.  He  is  a 
very  diligent  man  who  does  not  shrink  from  hard  tasks  and  prolonged 
labor.  While  not  manifesting  the  qualities  of  a  statesman  of  the  first 
rank  he  is  yet  looked  upon  as  a  thoroughly  conscientious  and  hard-work- 
ing and  intelligent  servant  of  his  country. 

SECTION  IX.   PRESIDENT  STEYN. 

Marthinus  Theunis  Steyn  attained  the  easiest  governing  position  in 
the  world  when  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State. 
Many  people  have  considered  him  to  be  the  one  man  in  South  Africa 
who  could  control  the  events  of  the  future.  That  impression  is  not  a 
well-founded  one,  and  it  is  probable  that  President  Steyn,  whilst  an 
able  man,  is  not  capable  of  ever  becoming  a  great  man. 

He  was  born  in  1857,  three  years  after  the  signing  of  the  Bloemfon- 


POLITICAL   WORKERS.  270 

tein  Convention,  close  to  the  capital  of  the  Free  State.  His  father  was 
a  member  of  the  Executive  Council  and  a  close  friend  of  Sir  John 
Brand,  who  was  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State  as  well  as  an  Eng- 
lish knight. 

Young  Steyn  received  his  education  at  the  Grey  College  in  Bloem- 
fontein,  and  after  leaving  school,  at  the  age  of  16,  worked  on  his 
father's  farm.  Here  he  learned  the  use  of  the  rifle  and  became  an  expert 
horseman.  It  was  at  that  time  all  his  ambition  to  become  a  successful 
farmer,  but  in  1876  ajrisit  from  Mr.  Justice  Buchanan,  of  the  Free  State 
High  Court,  changed  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  Mr.  Buchanan  was  so 
struck  with  the  nineteen-year-old  boy  that  he  persuaded  his  father  to 
send  his  son  to  study  law  in  Europe.  The  journey  was  in  those  times  very 
costly  and  very  difficult,  as  there  were  no  railways  to  the  coast.  Steyn 
studied  in  London  and  in  Holland,  spending  in  all  six  years  away  from 
home.  He  took  special  interest  in  the  reasons  of  British  greatness  and 
in  the  British  Constitution.  He  conceived  a  great  admiration  for  the 
system  of  government  which  makes  England  as  free  as  the  best  Re- 
public. 

In  1882  the  young  lawyer  returned  to  his  native  country,  twenty- 
five  years  of  age  and  anxious  for  hard  work.  He  practised  at  the  Bar 
for  six  years;  was  made  Attorney  General  in  1889,  and  became  a  judge 
after  less  than  a  year's  interval.  He  was  only  32  when  he  attained 
this  responsible  position. 

A  romantic  story  is  told  of  young  Steyn  and  the  lady  wrho  is  now 
his  wife.  When  he.  left  for  England,  in  his  20th  year,  there  was  a  little 
girl  of  twelve  years  on  the  ship.  During  the  long  voyage  he  naturally 
saw  a  good  deal  of  her  and  got  to  know  her  well.  When  he  left  the  ship 
he  lost  sight  of  her  until  he  returned  to  Bloeinfontein  as  a  barrister. 
He  was  presented  to  her  at  a  reception  held  directly  after  his  arrival 
home.  Taking  this  as  a  clear  sign,  the  two  fell  in  love  with  each  other 
and  became  engaged.  The  finances  of  the  future  President  would  not 
permit  him  to  support  a  wife  independently  of  assistance  from  his 
parents.  Thus  it  was  only  after  some  considerable  time  that,  in  1887. 
Miss  Fraser  became  his  wife.  She  is  a  most  efficient  and  capable  help 
to  her  .husband,  and,  indeed,  assists  him  greatly  in  his  official  work. 

President  Steyn  is  very  devoted  to  his  home  life  and  enjoys  nothing 


280  POLITICAL    WORKERS. 

better  than  to  be  able  to  spend  his  time  with  his  wife,  his  son  and  his 
three  little  girls. 

During  his  career  on  the  Orange  Free  State  Bench,  Mr.  Steyn  had 
frequently  to  ride  circuit  over  the  whole  of  the  country.  It  was  at 
this  time  and  during  these  rides,  or,  rather,  drives,  that  the  future 
President  made  the  acquaintance  and  won  the  respect  of  his  fellow 
burghers.  In  six  years  the  people  had  plenty  of  opportunities  of  discov- 
ering if  they  could  trust  Mr.  Steyn  or  not,  and  when  it  came  to  voting 
they  showed  what  their  decision  was. 

There  are  few  uncommon  incidents  in  the  story  of  Mr.  Steyn's  judge- 
ship,  though  it  is  said  that  none  of  his  judgments  were  reversed.  In 
1893  he  had  the  chance  of  becoming  Chief  Justice,  but  preferred  to 
sacrifice  his  own  advancement  to  the  good  of  the  State  and  persuaded 
the  then  Chief  Justice  to  reconsider  his  decision  to  resign. 

In  1896,  just  after  the  Jameson  Raid,  a  contest  for  President  took 
place  between  Mr.  Steyn  and  Mr.  J.  G.  Fraser,  his  wife's  uncle.  It  was 
an  unfortunate  time  for  a  Scotchman  to  appeal  to  a  Dutch  people,  even 
although  he  was  chairman  of  the  Volksraad  and  trusted  almost  as  one 
of  themselves  in  times  past.  It  is  difficult  to  say  how  much  the  Jameson 
Raid  affected  the  result  of  the  election,  but  it  suffices  to  say  that  Mr. 
Steyn  beat  his  opponent  by  six  to  one.  Considering  that  the  election 
took  place  only  five  weeks  after  the  Raid  one  may  imagine  that  the 
Dutch  feelings  of  the  burghers  were  well  to  the  fore  when  they  recorded 
their  votes. 

Since  he  became  President,  Mr.  Steyn  has  always  been  anxious 
to  remain  at  peace  with  Great  Britain,  to  a  great  extent  because  he 
had  no  wish  to  lose  his  native  State  and  his  post  at  the  same  time. 
Both  before  and  after  the  Bloemfontein  Conference  of  1899  he  endeav- 
ored to  close  the  widening  breach  between  the  Transvaal  and  the  British 
Government. 

It  is  said  in  some  quarters  that  President  Steyn  was  against  the 
present  war  and  that  he  was  quite  ready  to  overlook  the  treaty  with  the 
Transvaal  in  order  to  escape,  but  he  was  forced  by  his  burghers  to  an  act 
which  he  knew  well  was  both  impolitic  and  suicidal.  This,  however, 
may  be  untrue. 

The  position  of  the  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State  is  not  clearly 


GOING    HOME    FROM    THE    MINES 

These  two  Bechuanas  have  been  working  at  Kimberley  or  Johannesburg  have  received  their  oav  In 
±e,ag°tldhen  C°in™°f  thC  BrltiS,h  realm  and  are  traveling  on  their  road  from  100  t  400  mile?  to?  thei? 
distant  home.  They  carry  a  few  trophies  purchased  In  the  great  city,  and  reckon  themselves  as  they 
approach  their  own  town  among  the  heroes  and  wise  men  of  their  tribe. 


DIAMOND    FIELD    CLAIMS    ON    DE  BEERS'    FARM    IN    1869 

Best  view  now  possible  of  the  scene  where  Cecil  J.  Rhodes,  as  a  youth  of  twenty,  began  work  on 
his  claim.  This  spot  is  now  occupied  by  the  extensive  buildings  and  operations  of  the  De  Beers 
Mining  Company. 


SCENE    ON    AN    OSTRICH    FARM 

Ostriches  are  here  kept  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  their  feathers  for  European  and  American  markets. 


POLITICAL    WORKERS.  283 

defined,  and,  while  the  burghers  regard  him  as  a  powerful  ruler,  the 
Volksraad  does  not  even  allow  him  the  right  of  "veto"  over  its  acts. 
Thus  if  a  President  does  not  agree  he  has  no  other  course  but  to  resign. 
Mr.  Steyn  is  not  at  all  content  with  this  state  of  things  and  has  cherished 
the  intention  of  having  it  altered  by  direct  appeal  to  the  people. 

It  is  of  interest  to  see  what  are  President  Steyn's  views  on  Rhodes, 
as  expressed  in  1898,  at  Bloemfontein.  He  said: 

"Looking  north,  there  was  a  great  Imperialist  under  the  guise  of 
philanthropy,  calling  the  working  man  into  the  land  to  slave  for  him, 
for  he  had  a  monopoly  in  the  country.  Down  South,  the  great  Im- 
perialist had  tried  to  ingratiate  himself  into  the  good  books  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond,  his  only  object  being  the  hoarding  up  of  money  bags. 
Just  now  he  was  an  ultra-Imperialist,  but  if  he  did  not  get  his  way  he 
would  become  a  Republican.  Here  in  this  land  the  race  feeling  had 
been  engendered  by  the  great  Imperialist,  who  has  traded  on  the  na- 
tional feelings  of  the  people,  all  for  the  sake  of  riches.  It  is  against  the 
capitalists  that  we  have  to  fight." 

As  to  the  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Steyn,  the  description  given 
by  Mr.  Bigelow,  in  1897,  a  warm  admirer  of  the  President,  may  be 
quoted : 

"The  eyes  of  President  Steyn  are  those  of  a  frank  as  well  as  fearless 
man.  .  .  .  The  whole  expression  of  his  face  is  eminently  that  of 
harmony  and  strength.  His  nose  is  a  strong  one,  but  not,  as  in  Paul 
Kruger's  case,  an  exaggerated  feature  of  the  face.  Both  Presidents  have 
the  large  ears  characteristic  of  strong  men,  and  both  are  broad  between 
the  cheek-bones.  The  full  beard  of  President  Steyn  gives  to  him  so 
great  an  aspect  of  dignity  that  I,  at  least,  was  much  surprised  on  learn- 
ing later  that  he  was  not  yet  forty  years  old.  His  ample  forehead  adds 
to  his  dignity,  and  he  has,  also,  from  much  poring  over  books,  allowed 
one  or  two  folds  of  skin  to  droop  over  his  upper  eyelids.  .  .  .  Like 
Paul  Kruger,  Mr.  Steyn  is  a  man  of  great  physical  strength,  stands  full 
six  feet  high,  and  weighs  200  pounds."  ("White  Man's  Africa,"  by 
Poulteney  Bigelow.) 


CHAPTER  II. 
KHAMA,    CHIEF    OF    THE    BAMANGWATOS. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting  figures  in  South  African  history  for 
nearly  forty  years  has  been  that  of  Khama,  the  far-famed  chief  of 
the  Bamangwatos.  His  territory  is  a  very  large  one,  extending 
from  about  the  24th  deg.  of  latitude  northwards  to  the  18th  on  the  banks 
of  the  Zambesi,  and  from  about  the  22nd  deg.  of  longitude  to  the  28th. 
A  part  of  this  square  must  be  cut  out  of  the  northeastern  corner  and 
assigned  to  the  Matabele.  The  Bamangwato  tribe  was  at  the  beginning  * 
of  our  story  by  no  means  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Bechuana 
tribes,  nor  would  its  chief  stand  in  rank  in  the  first  place;  there  were 
other  tribes  to  the  south  who  were  considered  more  powerful  and  whose 
chiefs  were  superior.  But  the  raids  of  the  blood-thirsty  Matabele  had 
for  many  years  been  destroying  the  balance  of  power  among  these 
Bechuana  tribes  and  there  were  also  quarrels  among  themselves  which 
resulted  in  alterations  of  their  reputation  and  strength  in  relation  to 
one  another.  The  chief  Sekhome,  the  father  of  Khama,  had  the 
audacity  to  resist  the  Matabele  and  on  one  occasion  when  forty  of 
Moselekatse's  men  were  sent  to  gather  tribute  from  Sekhome  the  latter 
put  them  to  death.  The  result  of  his  courageous  and  successful  stand 
against  the  universal^  dreaded  tyrant  was  not  only  to  increase  his 
reputation  but  his  population;  for  small  tribes,  some  of  them  remnants 
of  tribes  whom  the  Matabele  had  destroyed,  came  from  different  direc- 
tions to  settle  at  Shoshong  under  Sekhome.  Sekhome  of  course  had  a 
wide  welcome  for  all."  He  was  himself  a  dark-hearted,  selfish,  suspi- 
cious, clever  and  cunning  man;  he  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  plottings 
and  ambitions,  of  black  fears  and  intense  hatreds.  He  was  proud,  how- 
ever, of  his  sons. 

The  eldest  son  of  Sekhome  was  Khama,  who  had  a  younger  brother 
close  to  him  in  age  and  sympathy  named  Khamane.  These  two  as 
youths  came  under  the  influence  of  a  Hanoverian  missionary,  a  Mr. 
Schulenborg.  By  him  they  were  brought  to  the  Christian  faith  and 
baptized. 

284 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  285 

About  the  year  1862  John  Mackenzie  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety settled  at  Shoshong  and  became  at  the  critical  time  of  their  life 
the  friend,  teacher  and  adviser  of  the  young  chiefs.  Khama  was  a  man 
who  early  manifested  his  remarkable  gifts.  His  apprehension  of  Chris- 
tian truths  was  so  clear  and  firm  that  he  seems  to  have  shed  most  of  the 
heathen  superstitions  in  which  he  was  brought  up  without  any  trouble, 
and  to  have  passed  beyond  them,  never  fearing  their  shadow  again. 
He  from  the  first  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  heathen  prac- 
tices in  which  the  chiefs  son  was  expected  to  take  part.  While  thus 
running  counter  to  the  habits  and  doctrines  of  his  tribe  he  nevertheless 
won  the  admira.tion  and  love  of  a  large  majority  of  his  people,  and  in  the 
difficult  times  which  came  to  him  he  had  often  reason  to  be  grateful  for 
the  singular  attachment  which  the  people  had  formed  for  him  and  which 
stood  as  a  bulwark  between  him  and  hostile  plotters  over  and  over 
again. 

In  1863  Khama  and  other  young  Christians  had  an  opportunity  of 
showing  their  real  metal.  The  natives  had  come  to  believe  that  Chris- 
tianity knocked  the  spirit  out  of  a  man.  Because  he  ceased  to  be  a 
murderer,  ceased  to  plot  for  selfish  ends,  ceased  to  desire  vengeance  or 
to  relish  tribal  wars,  it  was  imagined  that  he  had  lost  courage  of  soul. 
When  therefore  the  news  suddenly  came  that  the  Matabele  were  coming 
to  attack  Shoshong  many  in  the  town  immediately  wondered  how  the 
young  chiefs  and  their  sympathizers  would  meet  this  emergency.  To 
the  amazement  and  delight  of  all,  and  above  all  to  the  intense  satisfac- 
tion of  the  suspicious  father  Sekhome,"  they  showed  themselves  true 
patriots.  Their  missionary  told  them  that  in  this  crisis  they  who  were 
known  to  be  haters  of  warfare  must  show  themselves  heroes,  when  it 
came  to  defending  their  homes  and  loved  ones.  Sekhome  of  course 
resorted  to  witchcraft  in  order  to  consult  the  invisible  powers  as  to  his 
plans  and  prospects  of  success.  Khama  abruptty  urged  him  to  put 
these  things  aw^ay  and  to  discuss  what  they  were  going  to  do,  as  he  was 
eager  to  meet  the  enemy.  This  unexpected  outburst  rather  pleased 
than  annoyed  the  surprised  old  chief.  At  last  the  two  youngest  regi- 
ments, namely  those  of  Khama  and  his  brother  Khamane,  were  ordered 
out  to  meet  the  enemy. 

The  town  of  Shoshong  lies  along  the  foot  of  a  short  mountain  range 


286  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

running  east  and  west.  At  one  point  there  is  a  deep  cleft  or  kloof  in 
the  mountain  where  the  channel  of  the  river  runs.  Here  there  really  is 
no  river  except  after  heavy  rains  in  the  wet  season,  but  far  up  in  the 
kloof  in  what  must  be  called  the  bed  of  the  river  there  are  wells  which 
can  be  opened  by  a  little  digging  and  from  which  the  town  receives  its 
water  supply.  Between  the  town  which  lies  out  partly  on  the  plain 
and  these  wells  was  the  spot  where  the  missionaries  lived  and  did  their 
work.  This  open  space  between  the  narrowest  part  of  the  kloof  and  the 
wider  plain  on  which  the  town  stood  was  chosen  by  Sekhome  as  the 
place  of  defence  if  the  Matabele  should  actually  attack  his  town.  The 
women  and  children  and  the  old  men  fled  up  to  the  mountains  and  hid 
among  the  rocks  and  caves,  while  the  young  men  and  the  experienced 
soldiers  assembled  below  and  sent  out  their  fighting  parties  and  their 
scouts  in  various  directions.  Shoshong  was  therefore  somewhat  of  a 
stronghold  which  it  would  not  be  easy  for  the  Matabele  to  capture. 

Nevertheless  the  two  regiments  were  sent  out  to  meet  the  dreaded 
enemy  in  the  open  country  around  the  western  shoulder  of  the  moun- 
tain. The  Matabele  were  found  to  be  marching  in  three  companies,  two 
of  which  were  together,  and  the  defending  party  chose  these  for  their 
first  attack.  The  Matabele  had  no  guns,  the  Bamangwato  had  a  few, 
and  this  really  settled  the  matter  for  the  Matabele  found  themselves 
being  shot  at  and  some  of  their  number  being  shot  down  before  they 
could  reach  their  enemies  with  their  short  spears.  At  last  it  was  time 
for  a  Bamangwato  charge,  and  Khama  with  seven  "or  eight  other  men, 
on  horseback,  rushed  on  the  Matabele.  The  latter  turned  to  flee  and 
were  fleeing,  when  the  third  regiment  from  whom  they  had  been  sep- 
arated came  upon  the  scene  of  action.  The  Bamangwato  found  them- 
selves now  surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  were  speedily  disorganized. 
They  took  to  flight,  their  horsemen  doing  all  in  their  power  to  shelter 
them  by  cutting  in  between  them  and  their  pursuers.  The  Matabele 
might  well  consider  that  they  had  won  the  victory  except  that  they  had 
lost  more  men  and  that  after  all  they  had  been  confronted  and  their 
advance  actually  checked  by  two  regiments  of  despised  Bechuanas. 

One  of  the  amusing  incidents  of  this  fight  took  place  when  a  Bam- 
angwa'to  warrior  found  himself  too  closely  pursued  by  a  Matabele,  and 
took  to  his  heels.  The  former  had  a  gun  which  he  carried  upon  his 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  287 

shoulders  as  he  ran.  He  had  not  courage  enough  even  to  stop  and  fire. 
All  at  once  while  both  were  running  the  gun  by  some  accident  went  off, 
the  owner  probably  being  as  much  surprised  at  the  unexpected  event  as 
his  pursuer,  who  immediately  stopped.  The  latter  evidently  thought 
that  a  man  who  could  shoot  backwards  while  running  at  full  speed  was 
too  dangerous  for  further  pursuit. 

These  things  occurred  on  a  Friday.  Strangely  enough  on  the  Sunday, 
in  the  ordinary  exposition  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the  missionary 
(John  Mackenzie)  had  come  to  the  passage  in  the  5th  chapter  of  Mat- 
thew in  which  men  are  commanded  to  love  their  enemies.  It  gave  him 
an  opportunity  to  discuss  frankly  and  in  the  presence  of  the  very  facts 
the  difference  between  a  righteous  war  in  defence  of  home,  and  the 
spirit  that  seeks  vengeance  as  such,  or  which  would  make  war  for  the 
purpose  of  personal  gain.  He  even  urged  his  hearers  to  pray  for  the 
Matabele,  and  believed  that  some  of  them  did.  The  subject  of  this 
address  was  naturally  much  discussed  throughout  the  town,  even  Sek- 
home  who  never  attended  church  service  hearing  of  it  and  expressing 
his  approval  of  "the  Word."  He  said,  "We  expected  that  all  the  men 
of  the  Word  of  God  would  have  ascended  the  mountain  with  the  women 
and  children.  But  to-day  those  who  pray  to  God  are  our  leaders."  An 
old  man  remarked,  "In  forbidding  covetousness  the  Word  of  God 
stopped  all  war,  for  all  Bechuana  wars  are  begun  through  covetous- 
ness." 

The  result  of  this  war  was  to  raise  Khama  and  his  brother  higher 
than  ever  in  the  regard  of  the  people.  But  it  did  not  deliver  them  from 
persecution  in  the  days  to  come.  Khama  had  been  married  for  some 
time  to  the  daughter  of  Tshukuru,  one  of  the  leading  under-chiefs  of  the 
tribe,  and  Khainane  was  engaged  to  marry  another  daughter  of  the  same 
chief.  Now  it  wras  both  a  matter  of  policy  and  a  sign  of  dignity  in  a 
Bechuana  tribe  that  the  chief  should  marry  several  wives,  the  daughters 
of  various  under-chiefs.  In  that  way  he  made  powerful  friends  for  him- 
self and  maintained  his  royal  state.  Khama  refused  to  marry  the 
daughter  of  another  chief  whom  his  father  had  assigned  to  him;  no 
arguments  could  persuade  him  to  take  the  step  which  his  religion  for- 
bade. The  wrath  of  his  father  was  backed  up  by  the  jealousy  of  other 
head  men  who  did  not  relish  the  idea  of  seeing  one  man  the  proud 


288  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

father-in-law  of  the  two  young  chiefs.  Sekhome  tried  various  schemes, 
he  even  in  his  wrath  and  hatred  attempted  to  get  his  people  to  attack 
his  sons,  but  he  found  his  people  loved  them  too  much.  Every  plot  he 
made  was  exposed  in  advance,  sometimes  by  the  very  men  whom  he 
had  selected  to  carry  it  out. 

Khama  moved  through  all  these  events  without  anger,  without 
vengeance  of  spirit,  calm,  clear  of  mind  and  strong  of  will.  At  last 
danger  came  close  to  him  and  he  had  to  flee.  His  sympathizers  went 
with  him  and  his  brother,  and  they  ascended  the  mountain  over  the 
town  with  a  few  cattle  and  goats,  and  there  awaited  events.  Sekhome 
fired  upon  them,  and  civil  war  began.  It  lasted  six  weeks,  the  final  step 
consisting  of  a  close  sifge  during  which  Sekhome  attempted  to  starve 
his  sons  and  their  followers  into  submission.  At  the  end  of  that  time 
peace  was  made.  Khama  was  careful  to  lay  down  as  a  condition  that 
he  should  not  be  marched  into  the  town  and  into  the  khotla,  or  royal 
courtyard,  as  if  he  was  a  conquered  captive,  but  that  his  father  should 
take  his  place  and  allow  Khama  and  his  friends  to  enter  as  usual  and 
take  their  places  in  the  ordinary  way. 

Peace  did  not  last  long,  and  Sekhome  in  the  madness  of  his  anger 
attempted  another  foolish  plan  which  made  years  of  misery  both  for 
himself  and  his  people.  There  was  living  in  another  town  a  half- 
brother  of  his,  by  name  Macheng,  who,  according  to  native  laws,  had  a 
better  claim  to  be  chief  of  the  Bamangwato  than  Sekhome  himself. 
The  latter  resolved  to  name  him  as  his  successor,  and  sent  for  him  to 
come  and  settle  at  Shoshong  with  that  end  in  view.  Macheng  who  had 
been  brought  up  among  the  Matabele  and  had  imbibed  many  of  their 
abominable  habits  and  principles,  came  of  course  very  readily,  wondering 
at  the  turn  of  events  which  brought  him  within  sight  of  so  lofty  a  posi- 
tion. When  he  came  strange  scenes  were  enacted.  The  people  disliked 
him  and  Sekhome  disliked  him;  and  he  soon  saw  that  all  the  flattering 
speeches  of  welcome  which  they  uttered  were  hollow  and  insincere. 
Sekhome  had  said  to  him  beforehand  that  he  wished  him  to  come  in 
order  to  kill  Khama  and  Khamane  and  win  the  heirship  for  himself. 
Macheng  speedily  found  that  those  whom  he  had  come  to  kill  were  the 
only  people  whom  he  could  trust.  Khama,  when  his  turn  came  to  make 
a  speech  of  welcome,  spoke  with  a  courageous  frankness  worthy  of  the 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  289 

bravest  men  that  have  lived.  "King,"  he  said,  "it  would  appear  that 
I  alone  am  to  speak  unpleasant  words  to  you  this  day.  The  Bamang- 
wato  say  they  are  glad  to  See  you  here.  I  say  I  am  not  glad  to  see  you. 
If  Sekhome  could  not  live  with  his  own  children  but  drove  them  from 
the  town  and  shot  at  them,  how  is  he  to  submit  to  be  ruled  by  you?  If 
I  thought  there  would  be  peace  in  the  town,  I  would  say  I  was  glad  to 
see  you;  I  say  I  am  sorry  you  have  come,  because  I  know  that  only 
disorder  and  death  can  take  place  when  two  chiefs  sit  in  one  khotla." 
Continuing  he  claimed  his  freedom.  Let  him  have  his  own  horses  and 
wagon,  and  he  would  go  where  he  liked;  he  would  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  the  politics  of  the  town,  with  night  meetings  and  with  plot- 
tings,  he  would  only  attend  conferences  held  in  -daylight.  "I  am  sorry, 
Macheng,  that  I  cannot  give  you  a  better  welcome  to  the  Bamangwato." 

This  bold  and  honest  way  of  speaking  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  in  that 
assembly  of  hypocrites,  and  Macheng  with  a  certain  manly  grace  ac- 
knowledged it.  When  he  spoke,  having  referred  to  the  other  addresses, 
he  said,  "All  these  I  have  heard  with  the  ear;  one  speech,  and  one  only, 
has  reached  my  heart,  and  that  is  the  speech  of  Khama.  I  thank 
Khama  for  his  speech."  Macheng  assured  Khama  that  no  injury  would 
come  from  him,  and  Sekhome's  plot  had  once  more  failed.  Khama's 
prophecy  was  very  speedily  fulfilled,  for  Sekhome  could  not  endure  the 
presence  of  Macheng,  and  very  soon  began  plotting  to  get  rid  of  his 
guest.  He  arranged  with  his  supporters  that  on  a  certain  day,  as  they 
were  all  assembling  in  the  khotla,  they  should  attack  Macheng  and  his 
party  when  he  would  give  a  signal.  While  they  were  assembling  ac- 
cordingly Sekhome  stepped  out  from  his  quarters  and  suddenly  with 
one  blow  knocked  one  of  Macheng's  followers  to  the  ground.  He  turned, 
expecting  his  supporters  to  rush  to  his  assistance  and  to  overwhelm  the 
other  side.  To  his  dismay  he  saw  them  stand  still,  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  them  they  gathered  around  him  and  advised  him  to  flee.  This 
he  did,  slipped  out  of  his  own  courtyard  and  took  refuge  in  the  moun- 
tains. That  evening  when  the  sun  was  setting  there  was  only  one 
house  in  all  his  town  to  which  he  could  go  with  confidence.  That  was 
the  house  of  the  missionary,  against  whom  for  years  he  had  been  speak- 
ing, and  whose  very  life  he  had  threatened  to  destroy. 

Macheng  ruled  as  chief  for  several  years  and  throughout  those  years 


290  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

Khama  behaved  with  consummate  tact,  modesty  and  goodness.  Ma- 
cheng,  however,  became  more  brutal  as  time  passed;  a  drunken  and 
sensual  man,  he  gradually  made  himself  intolerable;  at  last  he  even 
attempted  to  get  rid  of  Khama  by  means  of  poison.  Native  charms  and 
medicines  would  not  do  it,  so  he  resolved  to  buy  strychnine  from  a  white 
trader.  He  got  the  help  in  this  of  a  degraded  European  whom  he  sent 
to  the  store  to  buy  it.  The  sharp-witted  trader  suspected  mischief  and 
sold  to  the  white  man  instead  of  strychnine  marking  ink.  This  was 
destined  by  Macheng  to  be  put  into  the  cups  of  coffee  which  he  wrould 
invite  Khama  and  Khamane  to  take;  but  they  declined  the  invitation, 
and  Macheng  was  doubly  foiled.  At  last  for  the  sake  of  his  very  life 
once  more,  long  after  his  best  friends  had  advised  him  to  take  the  step, 
Khama  drove  the  chief  away,  and  he  himself  was  the  acknowledged  chief 
of  the  Bamangwato  tribe.  This  occurred  in  the  year  1872. 

Khama  once  said,  "When  I  was  still  a  lad  I  used  to  think  how  I 
would  govern  my  town  and  what  kind  of  a  kingdom  it  should  be."  No 
royal  dreamer  ever  resolved  more  wisely  than  he.  On  the  one  hand  he 
determined  to  have  no  hand  in  heathen  practices.  On  the  other  hand 
he  determined  to  forbid  no  one  from  continuing  these  practices  who  still 
believed  in  them.  Freedom  of  thought  and  action  were  to  characterize 
his  kingdom.  Further  he  resolved  that  one  matter  which  had  long  been 
familiar  to  his  mind  should  be  firmly  dealt  with:  that  was  the  use  of 
intoxicating  drinks.  Not  only  did  his  own  people  make  a  strong  native 
beer  which  did  much  mischief  among  them,  but  alas!  and  alas!  Euro- 
pean traders  were  in  the  habit  of  bringing  in  strong  drinks  which  they 
were  willing  to  sell  to  the  natives,  and  which  they  too  often  consumed  in 
large  quantities  themselves.  Khama's  heart  had  been  sickened  times 
without  number  at  the  sheer  devilry  wrought  in  these  men's  lives  by  the 
bad  brandy  in  which  they  dealt.  He  resolved  to  cleanse  his  land  of  this 
curse.  "I  wanted,"  he  said,  "to  rule  over  a  nice  town,  and  no  town  could 
be  nice  where  there  was  drunkenness."  But  while  these  projects  were 
ripening  in  his  mind  he  took  a  step  which  no  one  of  his  friends  has  ever 
been  able  to  explain.  He  actually  sent  for  Sekhome,  his  father,  and 
brought  him  back  to  Shoshong. 

The  old  chief  began  plotting  on  the  day  of  his  arrival.  He  quickly 
saw  that  the  younger  brother,  Khamane,  was  ambitious  and  jealous  of 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  291 

Khama,  and  their  father  set  himself  to  win  Khamane's  confidence  and 
to  use  him  for  the  overthrow  of  the  elder  brother.  When  Khama  real- 
ized that  plots  were  again  afoot  and  that  his  own  brother  had  turned 
against  him  he  once  more  with  a  singularly  Christian  heart  resolved  not 
to  fight.  He  went  forth  with  a  few  of  his  friends  to  a  fountain  not 
many  miles  away  and  there  settled  down.  To  the  astonishment  of  the 
usurpers  practically  the  whole  town,  family  by  family,  put  together  their 
few  possessions  and  went  out  to  Khama.  Soon  he  had  nearly  all  his 
people  around  him  again.  Then  he  moved  to  the  northern  part  of  his 
kingdom  and  settled  on  the  river  Zouga;  but  within  two  years,  finding 
that  the  usurpers  did  not  relent  but  rather  sought  in  every  way  to  com- 
plete the  work  of  his  overthrow,  he  returned  to.  Shoshong.  He  then 
gave  battle  and  quickly  conquering  in  the  sharp  fight  which  took  place 
in  the  kloof,  established  himself  once  for  all  chief  of  the  Bamangwato. 

One  of  the  great  ceremonies  of  his  people  was  that  of  rain-making. 
No  harvest  could  be  successful  it  was  thought  unless  at  the  proper  sea- 
son the  native  wizards  used  their  concoctions  and  incantations  to  secure 
abundant  rain  and  a  rich  harvest.  Khama  firmly  determined  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it,  but  proposed  rather  that  they  should  meet  for 
solemn  prayer  to  God,  who  alone  could  give  them  rain.  This  the  mass 
of  the  people  declined  to  do,  and  the  ceremony  of  rain-making  was  car- 
ried through  without  the  chief.  There  ensued  a  rainless  season,  no 
harvests  and  a  terrific  famine.  The  miserable  creatures  perished  of 
hunger  notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  used  by  the  missionaries  and 
traders  and  by  the  noble  and  generous  Khama  himself,  to  procure  food 
and  to  distribute  it  freely. 

The  missionary,  Rev.  J.  D.  Hepburn,  proposed  a  week  of  prayer  to  God 
for  rain.  The  native  wizards  attributed  the  drought  to  the  god  of  the 
rain  who  was  punishing  them  for  deserting  his  worship.  Great  was  their 
confusion  of  face  when  this  very  week  of  prayer  closed  on  the  day  on 
which  most  abundant  rains  descended.  The  Christians  were  strength- 
ened in  their  conviction,  and  rightly  so,  that  the  Living  God  answers 
prayer,  and  the  heathen  were  in  large  numbers  so  overwhelmed  with  the 
facts  before  them  that  they  became  learners  of  the  Word.  This  prac- 
tically ended  rain-making  among  the  Bamangw^ato.  The  heathen  cere- 


292  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

rnony  has  given  way  to  an  annual  Christian  service  of  worship  and 
prayer. 

But  Khama's  hardest  fight,  the  struggle  in  which  moral  courage  of 
the  noblest  order  was  manifested  by  him,  was  when  he  arose  for  his 
contest  with  the  drink,  fiend.  In  spite  of  many  remonstrances  he  found 
that  the  English  traders  insisted  on  bringing  drink  into  his  country. 
They  brought  it  in  indeed  under  the  guise  of  other  goods;  but  this  kind 
could  not  be  hidden  long,  for  as  soon  as  the  bad  brandy  of  South  Africa 
has  been  taken,  the  man  who  takes  it  immediately  announces  the  fact 
to  all  beholders  and  all  hearers.  At  last  the  matter  reached  a  crisis 
when  it  was  ascertained  that  the  majority  of  the  traders  wrere  deter- 
mined to  defy  him.  He  went  personally  from  one  to  another  of  their 
wagons  and  houses  and  saw  the  most  horrible  scenes  conceivable.  At 
one  place  he  found  a  group  with  their  white  shirts  stained  with  blood, 
their  goods  strewn  all  over  the  floor,  a  huge  cask  of  water  upset  and 
many  things  swimming  in  it,  the  men  themselves  raving  with  drunken- 
ness. This  was  on  a  Saturday.  On  the  Monday  all  the  traders  had 
been  summoned  to  the  king's  courtyard. 

"A  cold,  dreary,  dark  day,  the  chief  in  the  sternest  mood  he  ever 
assumes,  but  which,  it  is  said,  always  means  a  fixed  purpose  with 
Khama.  He  did  not  ask  any  questions,  but  simply  stated  what  he  had 
seen;  how  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  warn  them,  and  they  had  des- 
pised his  laws  'because  he  was  a  black  man,  and  for  nothing  else.' 

"  'Well,  I  am  black,'  he  said,  'but  if  I  am  black  I  am  chief  of  my  own 
country  at  present.'  He  went  on:  'When  you  white  men  rule  in  the 
country  then  you  will  do  as  you  like.  At  present  I  rule,  and  I  shall 
maintain  my  laws  which  you  insult  and  despise.  You  have  insulted  and 
despised  me  in  my  own  town  because  I  am  a  black  man.  You  do  so 
because  you  despise  black  men  in  your  hearts.  If  you  despise  us,  what 
do  you  want  here  in  the  country  that  God  has  given  to  us?  Go  back  to 
your  own  country.' 

"And  he  mentioned  them  one  by  one  by  name. 

"  'Take  everything  you  have;  strip  the  iron  roofs  off  the  houses;  the 
wood  of  the  country  and  the  clay  of  which  you  made  the  bricks  you  can 
leave  to  be  thrown  down.  Take  all  that  is  yours  and  go.  More  than 
that,  if  there  is  any  other  white  man  here  who  does  not  like  my  laws 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  293 

let  him  go,  too.  I  want  no  one  but  friends  in  my  town.  If  you  are  not 
my  friends,  go  back  to  your  own  friends,  and  leave  me  and  my  own 
people  to  ourselves.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourselves. 

"  'I  am  trying  to  lead  my  people  to  act  according  to  that  word  of  God 
which  we  have  received  from  you  white  people,  and  you  show  them  an 
example  of  wickedness  such  as  we  never  knew.  You,  the  people  of  the 
word  of  God!  You  know  that  some  of  my  own  brothers  have  learned  to 
like  the  drink,  and  you  know  that  I  do  not  want  them  to  see  it  ever,  that 
they  may  forget  the  habit;  and  yet  you  not  only  bring  it  in  and  offer  it  to 
them,  but  you, try  to  tempt  me  with  it.  I  make  an  end  of  it  to-day.  Go. 
Take  your  cattle,  and  leave  my  town,  and  never  come  back  again/ 

"The  utmost  silence  followed1  Khaina's  words.  Shame  and  utter 
bewilderment  fell  upon  most  of  them.  They  had  expected  nothing  like 
this,  and  they  lost  the  very  power  to  reply." 

Several  individuals  attempted  to  plead  with  him.  "One  man  espe- 
cially pleaded  that  he  had  grown  up  from  being  quite  a  lad  in  the  coun- 
try, and  Khama  and  he  were  old  friends.  'Surely,  for  old  friendship's 
sake,  he  would  pity  him?' 

"  'Friendship,'  said  Khama;  'do  you  call  yourself  my  friend?  You 
are  the  ringleader  among  those  who  insult  and  despise  my  laws.  If 
you  have  grown  up  in  the  country,  then  you  know  better  than  anyone 
how  much  I  hate  this  drink.  Don't  talk  to  me  about  friendship.  I  give 
you  more  blame  than  any  of  them.  You  are  my  worst  enemy.  I  had  a 
right  to  expect  that  you  would  uphold  my  laws,  and  you  bring  in  the 
stuff  for  others  to  break  them.  You  do  not  know  what  pity  is,  and  yet 
you  ask  for  pity.  You  ask  for  pity  and  you  show  me  no  pity.  You  des- 
pise my  laws,  and  defy  me  in  the  presence  of  all  my  people.  My  people 
and  I  are  not  worthy  of  pity  because  God  has  made  our  faces  black  and 
yours  white.  No,  I  have  no  pity.' "  ("Twenty  Years  in  Khama's  Coun- 
try," by  J.  D.  Hepburn.) 

Needless  to  say  Khama  in  this  instance  gained  the  victory,  and  drove 
the  drink  sellers  out  of  his  town.  To  this  day  he  has  maintained  his 
determination  that  no  drink  shall  be  brought  into  his  country  from 
abroad,  nor  made  within  his  country.  It  has  cost  him  much  to  carry 
on  the  struggle  against  his  own  people,  against  brutal  white  traders, 
and  even  against  the  British  authorities,  but  his  tremendous  moral 


294  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF   THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

determination  has  carried  him  victoriously  through  his  difficulties,  and 
his  country  is  to-day  practically  clear  of  the  disgrace  of  drunkenness. 

Khama  has  baffled  all  students  of  his  motives  in  his  dealings  with 
Sekhome,  his  father,  and  Khainaiie,  his  youngest  brother.  They  both 
plotted  repeatedly  against  his  life  and  threatened  the  destruction  of  his 
people.  The  latter  became,  alas!  a  worthless  drunkard.  Khama  had 
the  right  according  to  native  laws  and  customs  on  many  occasions  to 
put  them  to  death.  He  had  as  much  right  to  do  so  as  Cromwell  to  be- 
head Charles  I.  In  many  lands  plottings  like  these  would  have  received 
short  shrift,  but  Khama  has  always  had  only  one  answer  to  those  who 
inquire  on  this  matter,  "He  is  my  father;  he  is  my  brother."  No  other 
reason  does  he  offer,  but  this  one  has  been  final  throughout  his  life.  At 
last  Sekhorne  died  and  the  weaker  machinations  of  Khamane  became 
less  important  as  time  went  on. 

In  the  year  1876  Khama  wrote  to  the  British  High  Commissioner 
at  Cape  Town,  requesting  to  be  protected  from  inroads  of  the  Boers. 
The  Boers  had  cast  their  eyes  upon  many  rich  and  lovely  parts  of 
Khama's  kingdom,  and  many  of  them  had  determined  to  trek  north- 
wards and  settle  there  and  elsewrhere  in  the  northern  part  of  Austral 
Africa.  Needless  to  say  he  did  not  receive  the  protection  he  desired. 
In  1885  Sir  Charles  Warren  visited  Shoshong  and  Khama  proposed  to 
him  a  treaty,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  documents  in  South  African 
history.  He  put  in  a  map  on  which  was  marked  off  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  territory  which  he  reserved  for  himself  and  his  people.  There 
they  were  to  enjoy  their  farms  for  raising  stock  and  agriculture  and  for 
hunting  as  hitherto.  Within  those  limits  also  he  was  to  continue  to  be 

o  . 

chief  and  to  rule  his  people  according  to  his  own  laws  and  customs,  and 
yet  he  proposed  to  receive  a  British  Resident  as  his  friend  and  adviser. 
All  the  rest  of  his  territory,  comprising  some  of  the  finest  land  in  South 
Africa,  amounting  to  no  less  than  70,000  square  miles,  he  offered  to  cede 
to  the  British  Government  who  should  have  the  powrer  at  once  to  divide 
it  up  into  farm  lands  and  townships,  and  send  in  European  settlers. 
The  British  Government  would  be  solely  responsible  for  the  control  of 
these  districts  occupied  by  Europeans.  This  most  wise  and  liberal 
proposal  received  no  .answer  for  many  months,  and  at  last  in  1886  was 
declined!  So  much  once  more  for  British  aggression!  The  folly  of  this 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  295 

Step  can  only  be  seen  and  felt  by  those  who  realize  the  difference  which 
would  have  been  made  in  South  Africa  affairs  to-day  had  Khama's 
statesman-like  proposals  been  heartily  accepted  and  earnestly  put  into 
practice.  The  besetting  British  habit  of  refusing  responsibility  and 
withdrawing  from  South  African  territories,  which  we  have  remarked 
so  repeatedly  in  these  pages,  we  see  once  more  doing  its  fatal  work  here. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  already  Great  Britain  had  proclaimed  a 
protectorate  over  all  Bechuanaland,  and  that  fact  makes  the  treatment 
of  Khama's  offer  the  more  amazing  in  its  dullness  of  vision  and  weak- 
ness of  will. 

At  last,  however,  a  Kesident  was  appointed  in  South  Bechuanaland 
who  was  understood  to  be  in  correspondence  with  Khama.  In  the  year 
1888  Khama  sent  to  this  assistant-Commissioner,  Mr.  John  Smith  Mof- 
fat,  a  letter  in  which  he  complained  that  on  the  Limpopo  river  forming 
the  boundary  between  his  country  and  the  Transvaal,  a  number  of  Boers 
were  gathering  in  a  deliberate  and  suspicious  way,  with  wagons  and 
abundance  of  ammunition,  that  they  were  building  a  pontoon  for  trans- 
porting their  wagons  and  cattle  across  the  river,  and  that  he  regarded 
their  presence  and  actions  there  as  threatening  his  territory.  Now  in 
the  preceding  year  the  High  Commissioner  at  Cape  Town  had  kindly 
informed  Khama  that  he  must  keep  the  subordinate  tribes  in  his  own 
territory  in  order  himself,  and  that  if  Boer  intruders  invaded  his  terri- 
tory he  must  expel  them  himself.  Accordingly,  as  no  time  was  to  be 
lost,  Khama  not  only  sent  this  letter  to  Mr.  Moffat  but  also  sent  a  party 
of  his  own  men  under  the  command  of  a  near  relative  of  his  own,  to  the 
Limpopo  river,  telling  them  that  they  must  on  no  account  fight,  but  that 
they  were  to  command  any  Europeans  found  in  his  territory  to  come  to 
him,  Khama,  to  explain  their  actions  and  their  purposes. 

The  natives  found  that  one  wagon  had  already  crossed  the  Limpopo, 
and  contained  a  large  amount  of  ammunition.  The  head  of  this  Boer 
expedition  was  a  man  of  the  name  of  Grobbelaar.  When  Khama's  men 
came  to  him  he  behaved  towards  them  in  a  brutal  way,  and  in  this  he 
was  backed  up  by  some  degraded  English  travellers  with  him,  and 
other  Boers.  The  Bechuanas  displayed  great  courage  and  also  great 
patience.  Grobbelaar  pointed  his  revolver  at  them,  pressed  it  against 
the  head  of  their  leader,  pummelled  first  one  and  then  another,  exclaim- 


296  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF   THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

ing  in  a  loud  voice  repeatedly,  "I  will  shoot  you,  I  will  shoot  you."  At 
last  the  struggle  took  a  more  serious  form,  and  in  spite  of  the  efforts 
of  the  Bechuana  leaders  to  maintain  peace  and  to  explain  that  Khania 
did  not  wish  to  fight  but  only  wished  their  company  to  come  to  him  for 
explanations,  shots  were  exchanged.  One  of  the  bullets  struck  Grob- 
belaar,  who  died  of  the  wound.  The  scene  was  repeated  on  two  con- 
secutive days.  Several  of  Khama's  people  wrere  killed.  The  incident 
produced  much  excitement  and  correspondence  between  the  British 
Government  and  the  Transvaal  took  place.  Beyond  a  doubt  this  con- 
stituted another  of  the  many  breaches  of  the  London  Convention  on 
the  part  of  the  Transvaal  Government,  for  it  should  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  in  a  country  like  the  Transvaal  and  among  a  people  like  the 
Boers  no  such  movement  as  that  of  Grobbelaar  can  take  place  without 
prolonged  discussions,  careful  preparation,  and  various  steps  of  which 
the  Government  officials  necessarily  become  perfectly  cognizant.  This 
instance  also  displayed  Khama's  wisdom  and  moderation. 

It  is  another  instance  of  the  real  weakness  and  lack  of  insight  at 
Cape  Town  that  while  this  outrage  occurred  in  a  British  Protectorate, 
instead  of  sending  Sir  Sidney  Shippard,  the  Commissioner  in  Bechuana- 
land,  to  investigate  the  incident  and  report,  Sir  Hercules  Kobinson 
actually  invited  President  Kruger  to  join  him  in  an  investigation. 
Kruger  sent  General  Joubert,  and  Joubert  and  Shippard  of  course 
disagreed.  Then  the  Governor  actually  proposed  a  reference  of  the 
matter  to  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Cape  Colony,  and  Kruger  proposed  the 
President  of  the  United  States  or  the  President  of  France!  The  Impe- 
rial Government  was  carefully  kept  out  as  if  by  common  consent. 

Perhaps  the  event  just  described  brought  to  a  head  certain  plans 
over  which  Khama  had  long  brooded.  As  we  have  said  the  towTn  of 
Shoshong  is  situated  on  a  singularly  dry  and  barren  region.  It  had 
served  its  purpose  in  the  stormy  days  of  the  past  as  a  stronghold  against 
the  Matabele,  but  now  the  fear  of  Matabele  invasions  was  practically 
at  an  end  and  that  reason  for  remaining  at  Shoshong  existed  no  longer. 
Khama  looked  out  for  a  new  site  on  wrhich  to  place  his  capital.  He 
selected  a  spot  called  Palapye,  sixty  miles  northeast  of  Shoshong.  There 
are  mountains  near  but  the  site  itself  consists  of  rolling  ground  with 
abundance  of  trees  and  grass  and  abundance  of  water.  It  is  in  every 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  297 

way  a  most  striking  contrast  to  Shoshong.  Khama  planned  that  his 
town  should  occupy  about  twenty  square  miles  which  he  divided  into 
five  quarters,  each  being  under  its  own  head-man.  After  the  plans  were 
completed  the  removal  began.  It  lasted  for  weeks  and  months,  streams 
of  people  marched  almost  daily  from  Shoshong,  past  the  mission  houses, 
through  the  kloof,  and  away  to  the  new  city  where  each  company  was 
shown  to  its  own  quarter  and  set  to  work  to  build  its  own  houses.  It 
was  no  slight  undertaking  thus  to  transfer  from  20,000  to  30,000  people, 
but  Khama  carried  the  whole  project  through  with  great  skill.  Of 
course,  an  appropriate  and  as  it  appears  a  most  beautiful  site  was 
selected  and  set  apart  for  the  mission  station.  In  a  short  time  the  sum 
of  £3,000  (about  |15,000)  was  raised  for  the  building  of  the  new  church. 
The  church  is  of  Gothic  architecture,  well  built  of  brick,  and  holds  about 
a  thousand  people.  Arrangements  were  made  for  schools  in  every  quar- 
ter and  the  energetic  missionary,  Rev.  J.  D.  Hepburn,  speedily  had  his 
native  teachers  at  work.  Khama  has  maintained  through  all  these  years 
his  deep  religious  devotion,  and  makes  it  plain  at  every  step  in  his  life 
that  he  acts  ever  under  the  guidance  and  inspiration  of  his  strong  and 
clear  Christian  faith. 

Khama's  selection  of  a  site  was  wise  on  political  as  well  as  economic 
grounds.  By  this  move  he  put  himself  into  the  heart  of  the  region 
which  he  wished  to  retain  permanently  for  his  own  tribe.  He  also 
placed  himself  on  the  direct  road  between  the  Transvaal  and  the  unoccu- 
pied territories  to  the  north,  so  that  any  Boers  who  henceforth  should 
wish  to  "trek"  northwards  must  come  into  close  quarters  with  him  ere 
they  could  reach  their  destination. 

Khama  has  in  recent  years  more  than  once  shown  his  determination 
to  be  a  faithful  member  of  the  British  Empire  and  loyal  to  the  Queen. 
When  the  pioneer  party  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company  went 
north  to  occupy  its  territory  in  the  year  1890,  they  received  most  valu- 
able assistance  from  the  men  whom  Khama  sent  with  them  as  guides, 
scouts  and  workers.  It  has  been  acknowledged  that  they  greatly  facili- 
tated the  movements  of  the  pioneer  force.  When  the  war  between  the 
British  South  Africa  Company  and  the  Matabele  tyranny  took  place 
Khama  once  more  assisted  by  himself  accompanying  the  Imperial  troops 
under  Major  Goold- Adams  with  a  body  pf  his  own  soldiers;  and  once 


298  KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS. 

more  his  men  proved  themselves  valuable.  A  slight  incident  at  the 
close  of  this  war  helps  again  to  illustrate  the  dignity  and  high  sense  of 
honor  of  this  native  chief.  He  ascertained  through  his  scouts  that  the 
Matabele  had  fled  and  that  the  war  was  at  an  end  before  the  white  scouts 
were  able  to  obtain  the  same  information.  Khama  himself  immediately 
returned  to  Palapye  with  his  troops.  It  was  at  first  thought  that  he 
had  deserted  the  British  force,  and  the  leaders  of  the  latter  were  for  a 
time  indignant.  This  was  reported  to  Mr.  Rhodes,  and  when  Mr. 
Rhodes  reached  Palapye  he  addressed  Khama  with  great  indignation. 
Khama  resented  what  he  felt  to  be  an  unjust  rebuke.  Mr.  Rhodes  after- 
wards discovered  the  true  facts  and  at  once  honorably  sent  a  message 
through  Dr.  Jameson  to  Palapye  to  express  his  regret  for  the  misappre- 
hension and  for  the  words  spoken  under  that  misapprehension.  Khama 
himself  said,  "If  the  words  were  so  spoken  it  is  enough.  I  have  already 
forgotten  them."  Some  time  afterwards  Khama  was  asked  to  give  an 
account  of  this  incident,  but  he  abruptly  refused.  "Mr.  Rhodes,"  he 
said,  "has  asked  me  to  forgive  him  for  words  which  he  spoke  when  he 
was  misinformed,  and  I  cannot  go  back  on  what  I  have  already  forgot- 
ten." 

It  came  to  be  known  that  Mr.  Rhodes  coveted  North  Bechuanaland, 
and  that  he  desired  the  British  Government  to  give  that  glorious  ter- 
ritory into  the  possession  of  the  Chartered  Company.  This  had  not  been 
altogether  unexpected,  and  the  British  Government  had  already  re- 
ceived many  protests  against  such  a  scheme.  It  had  been  pointed  out 
that,  it  was  one  thing  to  accept  Khama's  cession  of  his  territory  and  rule 
it  directly  under  Imperial  officers,  who  invariably  maintain  order  and 
justice  among  native  tribes  and  who  would  develop  the  country  for  the 
sake  of  its  inhabitants  both  white  and  black;  while  it  would  be  quite  an- 
other thing  to  hand  it  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a  purely  commercial 
organization.  Nevertheless  the  pressure  wras  so  great  that  in  the  year 
1895  Khama,  accompanied  by  two  other  neighboring  chiefs,  paid  a  visit 
to  Great  Britain.  Their  arrival  in  the  country  created  widespread 
interest.  The  name  of  Khama  was  already  familiar  and  his  character 
admired  by  various  sections  of  the  British  public,  and  wheresoever  he 
went  he  found  himself  warmly  received  by  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
land.  Large  meetings  were  .organized  where  he  made  his  statements 


Saja  --J 
e~2! 


3  nil 


s 


§  s^sf 

5     MO"!* 


§  lip 


^    gS 

B    -SSi 


ffl  0, 


ill 


Mil 

.60 
O  o»  P  ^TS 

tn  o  <u-w  a 
5.22o 


KHAMA,  CHIEF  OF  THE  BAMANGWATOS.  301 

which  were  interpreted  with  great  force  and  vivacity  by  the  Rev.  W.  C. 
Willoughby,  Khama's  missionary  at  Palapye.  Wherever  the  chiefs  ap- 
peared they  aroused  the  sympathy  and  even  the  admiration  of  both  rich 
and  poor.  Khama  especially  became  a  kind  of  lion  even  in  society.  In 
London  the  Duke  of  Westminster  gave  a  great  reception  in  his  honor, 
which  was  attended  by  many  members  of  the  nobility,  leading  poli- 
ticians, philanthropists  and  others.  People  very  generally  were  inclined 
to  feel  a  kind  of  pity  for  the  black  men,  imagining  that  they  would  feel 
miserable  and  uncomfortable  in  the  presence  of  the  glitter,  formality 
and  dignity  of  such  an  occasion,  But  tears  started  to  many  eyes  and 
many  hearts  beat  with  warm  admiration  when,  through  the  great  recep- 
tion hall  of  Grosvenor  House,  even  although  a  certain  silence  fell  over 
the  large  assemblage,  Khama  entered  and  moved  forward  with  as  much 
ease  and  composure  and  dignity  in  his  manner  as  the  noblest  there  to 
greet  his  host,  and  to  be  introduced  to  those  who  were  present  to  do  him 
honor.  Many  spoke  in  utter  amazement  of  the  high-souled  character 
which  shone  out  in  Khama's  bearing  throughout  these  trying  and  test- 
ing scenes. 

Khama  gained  his  political  end  for  the  time  being  while  he  con- 
sented to  the  cutting  off  of  a  strip  of  territory  on  the  east  and  southeast 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  railway  through  into  Rhodesia.  To-day 
he  retains  his  own  country  while  he  has  the  assistance  of  an  Imperial 
Resident  and  the  protection  of  a  body  of  Imperial  troops.  Long-may 
this  ideal  arrangement  last!  And  long  may  Khama  the  Good  live  to 
see  his  people  advancing  in  education  and  religion  and  becoming  mas- 
ters of  the  arts  of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  III. 
CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARIES. 

SECTION    I.     THE   INFLUENCE   OF    MISSIONS. 

IT  WOULD  indicate  a  very  superficial  view  of  South  African  history 
if  any  review  of  it  omitted  to  describe  the  influence  which  Christian 

missions  have  exercised.  The  progress  of  science  has  led  us  far  past 
the  day  when  it  was  supposed  possible  to  treat  the  development  of  a 
people  without  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  religion  of  that  people  and 
the  power  which  it  exerted  upon  their  character  and  history. 

All  the  native  tribes  of  South  Africa  had  religions  of  a  more  or  less 
definite  kind  to  which  some  reference  is  made  elsewhere  in  this  work. 
When  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  sent  its  first  batch  of  servants  to 
establish  the  settlement  at  Cape  Town  it  did  not  select  for  this 
purpose  people  who  were  noted  for  their  religion,  but  simply  those  who 
would  otherwise  be  likely  to  go  anywhere  as  its  servants  on  ordinary 
commercial  terms.  The  attempt  to  parallel  the  arrival  of  the  first 
Dutch  settlers  in  South  Africa  with  the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Ply- 
mouth Rock  is  ludicrous.  At  first  it  is  said  that  the  Dutch  Company 
provided  their  immigrants  with  a  Catechist,  but  it  was  not  for  about 
twelve  years  that  they  sent  an  ordained  minister  of  religion  to  live 
among  them.  Since  then  they  have  always  possessed  representatives 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  and  that  is  the  church  to  which  the  bulk 
of  the  white  people  in  South  Africa  have  hitherto  belonged.  The  min- 
isters of  this  church  did  not  go  out  as  missionaries  to  the  heathen,  but 
as  pastors  of  the  Dutch  people,  and  we  find  very  little  trace  of  any  ef- 
fort made  by  them  for  150  years  to  reach  the  Kaffirs  with  the  Christian 
religion.  The  fact  is  that  the  Dutch,  having  decided  early  in  their  his- 
tory to  grant  no  civil  rights  to  the  black  people,  were  prevented  by  thai 
resolve  from  granting  them  religious  benefits;  for  it  was  one  of  their 
doctrines  that  a  baptized  man  could  not  be  a  slave.  Hence  if  any  effort 
were  made  to  prepare  black  slaves  for  baptism  it  meant  their  loss  as 
slaves,  and  very  few  owners  could  be  brought  to  face  that  issue. 

302 


CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES.  303 

During  the  nineteenth  century  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  having 
lost  sympathy  with  the  religious  atmosphere  of  Holland,  drew  its  min- 
isters largely  from  Scotland,  and  the  influence  of  the  Scottish  ministers 
and  their  descendants  has  gone  far  towards  creating  that  powerful  mis- 
sionary sentiment  which  animates  many  sections  of  the  church  to-day. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  century  European  missionaries  to  the  native 
heathen  tribes  began  to  appear.  The  largest  number  and  the  most  pow- 
erful of  these  missionaries  were  sent  by  the  well-known  London  Mission- 
ary Society.  The  pioneer  was,  strange  to  say,  a  Dutchman  from  Holland 
by  the  name  of  Vanderkemp.  This  man,  who  had  passed  through  a 
much  varied  career,  had  only  late  in  life  become  a  religious  man,  and 
then  gave  himself  completely  to  his  new  devotion.  He  was  a  thorough 
scholar  and  a  man  of  science,  but  placed  all  his  training  and  his  powers 
at  the  service  of  these  native  peoples.  He  was  accompanied  by  several 
other  British  representatives  of  that  society.  Their  work  was  impaired 
by  misfortunes  from  the  beginning,  one  of  them  becoming  detached  by 
accepting  a  pastorate  over  white  people,  another  enduring  great  dis- 
couragement. The  heroic  soul  was  this  Vanderkemp.  He  was  from 
the  first  opposed  by  the  frontier  Boers,  and  both  he  and  the  natives 
whom  he  instructed  suffered  much  from  them. 

It  must  of  course  be  admitted  that  of  all  the  scores  and  hundreds  of 
missionaries  who  have  labored  in  South  Africa  some  have  made  serious 
mistakes  of  various  kinds.  There  have  been  injudicious  men  amongst 
them,  who  have  not  exercised  discretion  while  teaching  the  natives  con- 
cerning the  liberty  which  the  Gospel  confers;  there  have  been  some 
wTho  have  undoubtedly  made  accusations  against  the  Boers  which  in 
individual  cases  they  were  unable  to  prove  at  courts  of  law;  some  have 
not  succeeded  in  making  many  converts  nor  in  visibly  doing  much  to 
\  raise  the  level  of  civilization  amongst  the  people  whom  they  taught. 

Nevertheless,  when  all  deductions  have  been,  made  it  must  be 
acknowledged  by  every  fair  student  of  South  African  history  that  the 
European  missionaries  from  France,  Germany,  Switzerland,  Scotland, 
England,  Ireland  and  America  have  rendered  an  immeasurable  service 
and  exercised  a  boundless  influence  upon  that  history.  It  is  they  who 
have  in  many  instances  penetrated  into  practically  new  regions,  and  by 
settling  down  with  distant  tribes  have  opened  up  the  route  for  traders 


304  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

to  follow.  Wherever  a  missionary  settled  a  safe  resting  place  was 
found,  trade  in  European  clothing  and  implements  and  tools  was  cre- 
ated. Some  of  the  main  roads  in  South  Africa  were  originally  known 
as  the  "missionary  road."  The  missionaries  have  exercised  very  power- 
ful influence  upon  the  chiefs  of  tribes  with  whom  they  live;  they  have 
prevented  them  from  making  many  a  blunder  in  their  relations  with 
white  people  which  would  have  led  to  disastrous  results;  they  have 
proposed  many  a  step  which  has  led  to  the  creation  of  friendly  relations 
with  the  English  Government.  Elsewhere  in  these  pages  are  described 
in  fuller  detail  some  instances  of  this  influence.  When  Robert  Moffat 
persuaded  his  convert,  the  terrible  Afrikander,  to  go  to  Cape  Town  and 
see  the  Governor,  who  had  placed  a  price  upon  his  head;  when  the 
same  intrepid  evangelist  penetrated  to  the  kraal  of  the  fierce  Mosele- 
katse  and  won  his  heart  for  the  remainder  of  his  days;  when  Living- 
stone, and  after  him  his  brother-in-law,  Price,  lived  with  and  advised 
Sechele,  the  chief  of  the  Bakwena  tribe;  when  William  Ashton  in  the 
troublous  times  of  the  '70s,  in  South  Bechuanaland,  guided  more  than 
one  of  the  local  chiefs  safely  through  stormy  experiences;  when  Schreud- 
er  gained  such  influence  over  Cetywayo  that  during  the  Zulu  war  he 
and  his  mission  station,. while  open  to  attack,  were  kept  perfectly  safe; 
when  Casalis  gained  such  influence  over  the  Basuto  Chief  Moshesh  as  to 
become  his  political  adviser  and  deliver  him  from  imminent  danger 
at  more  than  one  crisis;  wTien  Mackenzie  moulded  Khama;  when  J. 
S.  Moffat  brought  his  personal  influence  and  famih'  name  to  bear  upon 
Lobengula  before  the  advent  of  the  Chartered  Company,  priceless  ser- 
vices were  rendered  to  the  cause  of  humanity  in  those  regions. 

It  is  true  that  the  Boers  profess  to  have  another  story  to  tell  and 
that  Mr.  Theal,  who  writes  his  South  African  histories  from  the  Boer 
point  of  view,  speaks  with  peculiar  disparagement  of  missionaries  as  a 
whole.  But  these  facts  are  explained  by  the  simple  circumstance  that 
from  the  beginning  the  Boers  found  the  missionary  influence  everywhere 
strengthening  and  building  up  native  communities,  while  the  mission- 
ary found  that  everywhere  the  influence  of  the  aggressive  and  far- 
traveling  Boers  was  hostile  to  his  humanitarian  purposes.  From  the 
beginning  of  their  work  in  South  Africa  with  singular  unanimity  all 
missionaries  who  have  been  placed  anywhere  near  the  frontiers  have 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  305 

had  only  one  story  to  tell  concerning  the  cruel  ill-treatment  of  native 
tribes  and  individuals  by  the  Boer  farmers.  They  assert  that  the  latter 
have  been  unscrupulous  in  seizing  the  lands,  and  even  in  destroying 
the  persons  of  the  former.  It  has  never  been  considered  a  serious  crime 
that  parties  of  Boers  should,  on  the  slightest  excuse,  set  out  to  slaughter 
the  inhabitants  of  a  native  village,  and  then  take  possession  of  their 
cattle  and  their  fountains.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  enter  into  details 
on  this  matter.  To  most  minds  the  fact  that  the  missionaries,  whose 
testimony  on  all  kinds  of  actual  events  and  facts  coming  within  the 
range  of  their  knowledge  is  considered  by  students  of  all  kinds  as  on  the 
whole  impartial,  honest  and  thoroughly  trustworthy,  has  been  for  near- 
ly 100  years  steadily  and  persistently  against  the  Boers,  will  be  con- 
sidered of  itself  final  evidence.  Mr.  Theal's  attempt  to  disprove  the 
statement  that  the  Boers  wrecked  Dr.  Livingstone's  mission  station 
and  carried  off  his  furniture,  destroying  his  books  and  papers  as  value- 
less, is  a  specimen  at  once  of  the  desperate  nature  of  his  case  and  the 
inadequacy  of  his  evidence.  Men  still  live  who  personally  knew  the 
individuals  who  took  part  in  that  raid  upon  Sechele's  town,  who  knew 
the  Boer  houses  to  which  the  missionary's  furniture  was  taken.  Dr. 
Livingstone  himself  explicitly  described  the  event  in  details  which  no 
native  could  have  invented,  and  which  he  himself  would  not  have  sug- 
gested without  careful  inquiry.  Dr.  Livingstone's  evidence  taken  on 
the  spot  within  a  short  time  of  the  events,  and  the  evidence  of  a  man 
like  Mr.  J.  S.  Moffat,  or  the  late  John  Mackenzie,  to  whom  the  Marico 
district,  from  which  the  raiders  went,  was  quite  familiar,  will  always, 
throughout  all  history,  be  considered  as  settling  this  question. 

-  The  principal  missions  in  South  Africa  have  been  as  follows:  First 
we  have  those  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian  Church,  mainly  confined  to 
Cape  Colony  and  Natal.  Their  most  remarkable  achievement  has  been 
the  creation  and  development  of  the  Lovedale  Institution.  Then  we 
have  the  work  of  the  American  Board  (Congregational),  which  has  been 
mainly  confined  to  the  Zulus  in  Natal  and  Zululand.  They  once  made  an 
effort  to  settle  in  the  Transvaal,  but  the  Boers  settled  that  effort.  Next, 
coming  west,  we  have  the  missions  of  the  Paris  Evangelical  Society  in 
Basutoland,  whose  remarkable  work  we  have  described  in  speaking  of 
that  most  interesting  country  and  people.  The  Hanoverian  Society  at 


306  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

one  time  was  much  favored  by  the  Boers,  who  thought  that  its  agents 
would  be  more  in  sympathy  with  themselves,  and  sought  to  have  them 
placed  in  Xorth  Bechuanaland.  They  withdrew  from  that  region  and 
have  only  a  few  stations  left  in  the  land.  The  Methodists  have  worked 
widely  and  well,  but  principally  in  Cape  Colony.  The  Moravians  have 
worked  at  various  points.  The  Episcopalians,  while  hitherto  confining 
themselves  to  operations  through  the  Bishop  of  Cape  Colony,  have  lately 
developed  great  energy  by  the  creation  of  Bishoprics  in  Natal  and  the 
Orange  Free  State  and  Rhodesia. 

The  largest  number  of  pioneer  missionaries  in  South  Africa  have 
been  sent  out  by  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  the  most  famous 
amongst  South  Afriqan  missionaries  have  arisen  from  among  them. 
They  began  work  when  the  Colony  wTas  still  small.  At  first  they  at- 
tempted as  other  societies  did  to  form  settlements  of  natives,  wThere 
those  who  were  willing  to  receive  instruction  could  be  gathered  and 
organized  into  communities,  with  the  hope  that  they  would  form  civil- 
izing nuclei  from  which  the  whole  native  world  might  be  reorganized. 
This  hope  has  not  on  the  whole  been  realized,  and  their  settlements 
have  nearly  all  been  given  up  one  by  one.  The  agents,  as  they  were 
called,  of  this  society,  early  entered  in  Bechuanaland,  and  were  the 
first  to  reach  the  Zambesi  from  the  south.  Their  mission  stations  now 
extend  from  Kuruman  right  up  to  Matebeleland  and  Lake  •  Xgami. 
Their  first  great  pioneer  was  Robert  Moffat,  their  second  was  David 
Livingstone.  He  early  formed  the  purpose  of  establishing  Christian 
operations  at  many  points  and  of  training  native  teachers  to  occupy 
these  places.  If  his  plan  had  been  carried  out,  Bechuanaland  would 
have  advanced  in  education  and  religion  far  beyond  the  point  she  now 
has  reached.  He  had  started  this  development  and  had  begun  the  first 
few  of  a  chain  of  mission  stations  extending  eastwards,  when  his  work 
was  entirely  broken  up,  his  teachers  driven  away  and  his  own  station 
wrecked,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the  frontier  adventurers  of  the  Transvaal 
Republic.  This  fact  it  was  which  directed  his  eyes  northwards,  and 
brought  it  about  that  the  London  Missionary  Society's  stations  have  ex- 
tended in  a  long  thin  line  between  the  Kalahari  Desert  on  the  west  and 
the  boundaries  of  the  Transvaal  Republic  on  the  east,  for  a  distance  of  no 
less  than  1;2QO  miles.  When  one  remembers  that  these  great  distances 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  307 

had  to  be  traversed  by  means  of  ox  wagons,  journeying  at  the  rate  of 
from  ten  to  twenty  miles  a  day,  one  can  faintly  estimate  at  once  the 
enormous  labor  and  the  apparently  enormous  loss  of  time  which  have 
been  involved  in  the  work  of  establishing  the  Christian  religion  amongst 
the  widely  scattered  tribes  of  these  regions. 

It  will  not  be  possible  to  give  a  vivid  account  of  missionary  work 
in  South  Africa  without  describing  somewhat  in  detail  the  lives  of  sev- 
eral representative  missionaries.  In  doing  this  no  attempt  is  made  to 
say  who  are  the  greatest,  or  to  maintain  that  those  who  are  described 
in  the  following  pages  are  greater  than  some  whom  it  has  been  found 
impossible  to  include.  The  personalities  and  work  of  Dr.  Philip  of  Cape 
Town,  of  Vanderkemp,  of  Dr.  Lindley  of  the  American  Board,  of  Casalis 
and  Ashton  and  Hepburn,  were  well  worthy  of  full  description,  but 
the  following  four  have  been  selected  partly  because  their  missionary 
work  was  in  their  cases  very  closely  allied  with  remarkable  influences 
of  another  kind.  Mons.  Coillard  stands  out  for  the  beauty  of  his  influ- 
ence in  Basutoland,  and  for  his  remarkable  work  in  opening  up  the 
French  mission  in  the  far  distant  Barotse  Valley.  Kobert  Moffat  was 
the  great  evangelist  and  traveler  and  translator  of  the  Scriptures. 
David  Livingstone  was  the  mighty  explorer,  and  John  Mackenzie,  the 
man  who  worked  at  missions  with  the  instincts  both  of  the  statesman 
and  of  the  evangelist.  If  we  understand  these  men  we  understand 
something  of  what  missions  have  done  in  the  course  of  South  African 
history. 

SECTION    II.        ROBERT    MOFFAT. 

One  of  the  greatest  names  in  South  African  history  is  that  of  Robert 
Moffat.  He  was  born  in  1795  near  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  He  was 
brought  up  in  a  pious  household  and  listened  in  his  early  years  to 
thrilling  accounts  of  the  missionary  pioneers  who  at  that  time  were 
leaving  the  shores  of  England  and'Scotland  for  China,  India,  Africa  and 
the  South  Seas.  His  parents  were  plain  people  with  a  very  humble 
income,  and  gave  their  children  a  simple  schooling  and  an  earnest  spirit- 
ual training.  Young  Robert  Moffat  was  naturally  a  boy  of  daring  and 
adventurous  spirit.  Having  resolved  to  become  a  sailor,  and  finding 
his  parents  opposed  to  this  he,  like  so  many  others,  ran  away  and  went 
to  sea,  After  a  number  of  voyages  in  the  coast  trade  and  some  hair- 


308  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

breadth  escapes  from  death  he  became  disgusted  with  his  life  and  re- 
turned home.  He  was  on  his  return  only  eleven  years  of  age.  He  was 
sent  back  to  school,  but  remained  there  only  six  months,  and  then 
became  apprenticed  to  the  trade  of  a  gardener.  While  this  was  the 
end  of  his  schooling  he  had,  we  are  told,  a  craving  which  clung  to  him 
through  life  to  learn  something  of  whatever  he  came  in  contact  with; 
and  many  of  the  accomplishments  of  which  he  thus  gained  a  smattering 
proved  themselves  invaluable  to  him  in  after  years.  Like  his  future 
son-in-law,  David  Livingstone,  he  studied  Latin  and  mathematics  in  the 
evenings. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  removed  to  England,  having  received  what 
was  for  him  an  important  situation  in  the  garden  of  a  country  gentle- 
man belonging  to  the  county  of  Cheshire.  Here  he  came  in  contact  with 
the  Methodists  and  through  their  influence  was  drawn  into  a  warmer 
Christian  life.  After  some  time  an  incident  occurred  which  in  the  most 
unexpected  wray  determined  his  future  life.  While  entering  a  small 
neighboring  town  on  a  business  errand  and  crossing  a  bridge,  he  ob- 
served a  placard  which  he  stopped  to  read.  It  was  a  missionary  plac- 
ard announcing  an  approaching  missionary  meeting,  and  it  was  the 
first  placard  of  that  kind  he  had  ever  seen.  He  stood  long  reading  it, 
staring  vacantly  at  it,  while  there  passed  before  his  mind  in  vivid 
remembrance,  as  if  fresh  from  her  lips,  story  after  story  of  the  Moravian 
missionaries  which  his  mother  had  read  to  him  years  before.  He  says 
that  an  indescribable  tumult  took  hold  of  him.  Having  made  his  pur- 
chase he  returned  to  the  placard,  read  it  again  and  went  home  "another 
man,  or  rather  with  another  heart."  Robert  Moffat  determined  to  be  a 
missionary.  He  immediately  consulted  the  Eev.  W.  Roby  of  Manchester 
and  by  him  was  encouraged  to  make  application  to  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society.  His  parents  felt  at  first  as  if  it  were  a  severe  blow, 
but  at  last  consented  and  bade  him  God-speed  with  affectionate  resig- 
nation. 

Having  been  designated  to  the  South  African  field  Moffat  proceeded 
thither  in  the  year  1817.  WThen  he  landed,  he  found  that  there  was  con- 
siderable unrest  throughout  the  Colony  owing  to  the  movements  of 
Kaffir  tribes  beyond  the  b.orders.  At  last  he  received  the  consent  of 
the  Governor  and  proceeded  with  two  companions  to  the  northwest, 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  309 

into  the  country  known  as  Nainaqualand.  He  remained  here  only 
twelve  months;  but  they  were  important  twelve  months,  for  he  met 
here  with  a  man  called  Afrikaner  who  had  formerly  been  a  robber 
chief  and  had  been  pursued  for  some  time  by  the  Cape  Government. 
The  Government  had  set  a  price  upon  his  head.  But  recently  he  had 
become  a  Christian  to  the  amazement  of  all,  both  black  and  white,  and 
of  those  at  the  Cape,  who  imagined  that  the  blacks  were  unreachable 
by  the  lofty  ideals  of  the  Christian  religion.  Moffat's  influence  over  this 
man  became  very  powerful,  and  he  succeeded  even  in  persuading  him 
to  visit  Cape  Town  itself.  There  the  greatly  feared  robber  and  captain 
of  robbers  was  looked  upon  with  mingled  wronder  and  awe,  but  he  was 
kindly  received  even  by  the  Governor.  The  £100  ($500)  which  had  been 
once  offered  for  his  head  as  an  outlaw  was  ultimately  spent  in  giving 
him  a  fresh  start  in  life. 

Throughout  the  year  of  service  in  Namaqualand  Moffat  was  a  lonely 
bachelor,  and  he  gives  humorous  accounts  of  the  miscellaneous  practices 
in  which  he  was  engaged  in  addition  to  housekeeping.  Besides  all  his 
earnest  religious  labors,  he  says,  "Daily  I  do  a  little  in  the  garden,  daily 
I  am  doing  something  for  the  people  in  mending  guns.  I  am  carpenter, 
smith,  cooper,  tailor,  shoe-maker,  miller,  baker  and  housekeeper — the 
last  is  the  most  burdensome  of  any.  Indeed  none  is  burdensome  but 
that."  His  experience  as  a  gardener  came  even  here  to  be  of  value,  and 
he  began  to  reap  harvests  which  none  other  had  dreamed  of  obtaining 
in  those  regions. 

On  the  death  of  Afrikaner  his  tribe  was  dispersed  and  Moffat  had  no 
natives  to  work  with.  He  accordingly  removed  to  labor  among  the 
Bechuanas.  His  intended,  Miss  Mary  Smith  of  Manchester,  came  out 
from  England  and  they  were  married  at  Cape  Town  in  the  year  1819. 
In  1820  they  set  out  upon  their  long  ox-wagon  journey  to  fornra  mission 
station  at  Lattakoo.  The  journey  was  not  without  adventures  and  dis- 
appointments, but  at  last  they  found  themselves  in  their  new  scene  of 
labors.  Eventually  they  removed  to  the  magnificent  fountain  at  Kuru- 
man.  There  were  but  few  people  here,  but  it  was  a  splendid  center 
from  which  the  missionary  could  make  itinerating  tours  for  many  miles 
around,  and  the  population  of  the  village  itself  gradually  increased. 

A  touching  incident  occurred  in  connection  with  the  formation  of  the 


310  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES. 

church.  For  long  it  seemed  as  if  no  Bechuana  would  receive  the  Gospel. 
They  became  amenable  to  education  and  a  little  industrial  training,  but 
the  Christian  religion  did  not  seem  to  reach  them.  The  brave  young 
wife  was,  however,  full  of  faith,  and  one  time,  before  there  were  any 
converts,  or  any  baptisms  or  any  communicants,  while  all  seemed  dense 
as  night,  she  wrote  to  a  friend  in  England  saying,  "Send  us  a  com- 
munion service;  we  shall  want  it  some  day."  At  last  and  long  after- 
ward the  light  broke,  and  many  who  had  been  heathen  men  and  women 
came  forward  offering  themselves  for  baptism.  The  cautious  mission- 
aries only  admitted  six  to  begin  with  to  the  church  of  Christ,  and  with 
those  six  resolved  to  hold  their  first  communion  service  and  form  their 
first  church.  On  the  very  day  preceding  this  memorable  occasion  a 
box  from  England,  which  had  been  for  many  months  on  the  road,  ar- 
rived. On  being  immediately  opened  it  was  found  to  contain  to  their 
utter  astonishment  the  vessels  for  the  communion  which  Mary  Moffat 
had  asked  her  friend  to  send  nearly  three  years  before! 

In  the  year  1829  another  event  occurred  which  profoundly  affected 
the  future  of  South  Africa  and  introduced  many  remarkable  episodes 
into  Moffat's  life.  Away  to  the  east  and  northeast  terrible  things  were 
occurring  among  the  native  inhabitants  of  what  is  now  the  Transvaal, 
which  at  that  time  had  scarcely  been  trodden  by  the  foot  of  any  white 
man.  Moselekatse,  the  young  Zulu  chief,  was  spreading  massacre  and 
devastation  through  great  regions  with  his  highly  trained  and  blood- 
thirsty regiments  of  young  warriors.  The  story  was  a  most  remarkable 
one  which  reached  the  missionaries  from  time  to  time.  Only  one 
method  was  pursued  by  these  ruthless  fiends  when  they  attacked  any 
village.  The  young  women  and  children  were  taken  captive,  every  full 
grown  man  and  woman  was  put  to  death.  Thus  a  large  strip  of  country 
was  rapidly  depopulated  and  broken-hearted  remnants  of  tribes  fled 
westwards  from  one  village  to  another,  seeking  some  place  of  safety 
from  their  foes. 

In  the  year  mentioned  above,  news  reached  the  chief  Moselekatse  of 
some  wonderful  white  people  at  Kuruman  who  were  not  roving  traders, 
but  who  settled  down  and  became  teachers  of  strange  things  to  the 
natives.  They  built  strange  houses  and  possessed  strange  and  magical 
weapons  for  killing  game.  The  young  chief  had  his  curiosity  aroused 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  311 

and  sent  an  embassy  to  the  mission  station  consisting  of  two  head  men 
and  three  attendants.  The  march  of  these  men  across  the  country 
spread  terror  everywhere.  They  brought  an  invitation  to  the  white 
men  to  visit  Moselekatse.  Robert  Moffat  with  a  courage  which  cannot 
be  too  highly  praised  resolved  to  go.  It  took  him  a  month  of  steady 
travelling  before  he  reached  the  encampment  and  beheld  the  great  chief. 
For  eight  days  he  remained  there,  nor  did  he  shrink  to  act  as  a  mission- 
ary before  that  fierce  and  powerful  savage  warrior.  He  told  him  of  God 
the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  Commander  among  the  nations;  he  openly 
and  fearlessly  discussed  the  wickedness  and  horror  of  destroying  the 
inhabitants  of  a  country  as  Moselekatse  had  done.  He  did  all  this  and 
remained  himself  unharmed,  nay  rather,  admired  and  trusted  the  more; 
for  it  is  such  men  as  he  who  have  ever  most  surely  won  the  confidence 
of  even  suspicious  savages, — men,  that  is,  of  high  personal  character,  of 
unselfish  spirit,  thoroughly  honest,  and  therefore  both  fearless  and  un- 
suspicious. The  ignorant  are  quick  to  read  such  facts  in  a  man's  face 
and  bearing.  The  extraordinary  power  of  General  Gordon  and  David 
Livingstone  and  many  others  who  have  overcome  the  fears  and  enmity 
of  savage  tribes  lay  just  there,  in  that  manner  of  w7arm  assurance,  that 
look  of  piercing  insight  and  above  all  of  personal  rectitude. 

At  this  time  Moffat  so  impressed  the  savage  Moselekatse  with  a 
sense  of  his  unselfishness  and  honor  and  kindness  that  when  they  parted 
Moselekatse,  laying  his  hand  on  Moffat's  shoulder,  said,  "My  heart  is 
white  as  milk;  I  am  still  wondering  at  the  love  of  a  stranger  who  never 
saw  me.  You  have  fed  me,  you  have  protected  me,  you  have  carried  me 
in  your  arms.  I  live  to-day  by  you,  a  stranger."  A  few  years  later  the 
Boers  had  got  the  length  of  Moselekatse's  territory,  and  of  course  war 
began.  They  were  intent  on  doing  just'  what  he  had  done,  possessing 
themselves  of  the  best  land  they  saw  at  any  cost  to  its  previous  possess- 
ors. Yet  in  1835,  although  white  men  had  nowr  become  objects  of  dislike 
to  this  Zulu  tribe,  Moffat  agreed  to  escort  a  scientific  exploring  expedi- 
tion into  Moselekatse's  country.  The  journey  was  made  in  perfect 
safety.  Moffat  promised  to  see  that  teachers  were  sent  to  Moselekatse, 
and  corresponded  through  Dr.  Philip  of  Cape  Town  with  the  American 
Board  whose  missionaries  arrived  in  due  time  and  settled  down.  The 
Boer  adventurers,  however,  broke  in  upon  this  arrangement  They 


312  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

soon  proved  too  much  for  even  Moselekatse's  people  with  their  swift 
horses  and  their  musketry  fire.  Moselekatse  decided  to  move  north- 
wards, the  mission  station  was  broken  up,  the  American  missionaries 
were  sent  eastwards. 

It  was  not  until  the  year  1853  that  Moffat  again  encountered  his 
strange  friend,  this  powerful  chief.  The  missionary  had  been  in  poor 
health  and  resolved  to  make  the  long  journey  to  Matabeleland  with  the 
hope  of  at  once  restoring  his  strength  and  reopening  communications 
with  Moselekatse.  He  found  him  sadly  prostrated  \vith  disease.  Mof- 
fat undertook  the  somewhat  delicate  and  precarious  task  of  medical 
adviser,  and  was,  fortunately  for  him,  able  greatly  to  improve  the  chiefs 
condition!  Moffat's  friend  Livingstone  wras  at  this  time  still  further 
north,  and  he  wished  to  follow  him  up  with  the  supplies  which  he  knew 
the  solitary  traveller  would  require,  but  Moselekatse  was  not  at  all 
anxious  that  his  friend  should  leave  his  country,  lest  he  become  enam- 
ored wTith  another  beyond  him.  A  party  of  men,  however,  were  sent 
out  with  the  supplies  which  did  in  a  most  remarkable  manner  reach  the 
hands  of  Livingstone. 

In  1857  Robert  Moffat  made  his  fourth  visit  to  this  chief,  his  second 
journey  into  Matabeleland.  This  time  he  had  a  definite  plan  in  his  mind 
for  opening  up  a  number  of  stations  in  the  interior  on  a  much  more 
extensive  scale  than  he  had  attempted  hitherto.  He  wished  not  only  to 
reach  Moselekatse  but  to  plant  mission  stations  among  the  tribes  all 
around  him,  with  the  hope  that  in  this  way  an  influence  would  be  exerted 
which  in  time  would  end  the  terrible  raid  policy  of  the  Matabele  regi- 
ments. It  was  a  daring  and  great  project  and  Moffat  felt  that  he  must 
himself  prepare  the  way.  Provisional  consent  was  given  and  the  cour- 
ageous missionary  returned,  passing  southwards  even  to  the  Cape. 
Hardly  had  he  got  back  from  the  Cape  to  Kuruman  and  begun  work 
again  when  the  weary  journey  of  one  thousand  miles  had  to  be  under- 
taken afresh.  This  time  he  met  with  one  of  the  most  trying  experiences 
of  his  life,  for  the  king  kept  him  waiting  for  weeks  and  months  before 
giving  his  consent  to  the  establishment  of  the  mission.  At  last  the  sky 
cleared  suddenly,  the  old  king,  fickle,  suspicious,  and  incalculable,  sum- 
moned the  missionaries,  appointed  them  ground  upon  which  to  build 
their  station,  and  outwardly  was  most  cordial.  When  the  veteran  mis- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  313 

sionary  had  seen  his  younger  brethren  fairly  established,  he  and  the 
veteran  master  of  bloodshed  bade  each  other  their  last  farewell. 

It  is  evident  that  between  these  two  men,  so  utterly  unlike  each 
other,  a  powerful  attachment  had  sprung  up.  What  was  strong  and 
commanding  in  each,  won  the  admiration  of  the  other.  The  Christian 
man  felt  that  in  the  cruel  heart  of  this  savage  there  were  remnants  of  a 
better  nature  which  he  might  influence  yet  to  a  better  destiny,  while 
this  dark-hearted  savage,  as  he  looked  at  the  life  of  the  strange  white 
man  and  heard  his  teaching,  obtained  glimpses  of  a  purer  and  a  better 
world  than  he  had  ever  seen  even  in  his  best  dreams. 

It  is  worth  while  to  think  of  the  five  long  journeys,  so  lonely  and 
anxious  and  long,  which  Moffat  made  to  visit  Moselekatse  between  the 
years  1829  and  1859.  They  throw  into  relief  the  intrepid,  active,  mas- 
terful spirit  of  the  man  and  his  self-sacrifices.  Each  journey  was  like 
banishment  for  many  months  from  his  home,  each  was  attended  by  dan- 
gers innumerable  and  each  yielded  but  a  small  measure,  compared,  as 
the  outside  judgment  would  imagine,  with  the  expenditure  of  time  and 
labor,  of  physical  and  moral  energy  which  they  demanded.  But  Mof- 
fat did  more  than  any  other  man  by  these  journeys  to  open  up  the 
interior  of  South  Africa  to  commerce  as  well  as  to  missions.  He  made 
the  long  roads  safer  for  all  who  followed,  he  accustomed  the  most  dis- 
tant tribes  to  dealing  with  white  men.  It  may  be  hoped  that  he  even 
did  more,  and  that  Moselekatse  did  receive  some  modification  of  his 
cruel  ambitions  from  the  influence  and  teaching  of  his  white  friend. 

During  his  life  at  Kuruman,  Kobert  Moffat  was  a  tireless  evangelist. 
He  preached  constantly  to  the  people  of  his  own  station,  and  went  out 
frequently  upon  tours  lasting  from  a  few  days  to  a  number  of  weeks 
finding  entrance  for  the  Gospel  in  neighboring  towns  and  villages.  But 
that  which  to  most  minds  must  stand  out  as  the  crowning  achievement 
of  his  remarkable  life  remains  to  be  mentioned.  Other  men  in  South 
Africa  have  faced  lions  and  savages,  other  men  have  been  the  means  of 
Converting  many  heathen  to  Christianity,  of  establishing  even  stronger 
native  churches,  of  doing  far  more  for  native  education  which  was  his 
weak  point  But  only  one  man,  single-handed,  translated  the  Bible 
from  Genesis  to  Revelation  into  the  language  of  the  Bechuanas.  Amid 
his  journeyings  many,  his  building  of  houses,  his  planting  of  gardens, 


314  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONARIES. 

the  finest  in  South  Africa,  amid  his  preaching  and  conversing,  Moffat 
achieved  this  huge  work. 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  it  is  easy  to  picture  what  he  endured  in  the 
pursuit  even  of  this  one  aim.  About  the  year  1825  Moffat  'began  the 
history  of  Bechuana  literature  by  drawing  up  a  spelling  book  which  he 
sent  to  Cape  Town  to  be  printed.  Before  the  year  1830  he  had  trans- 
lated several  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  and  went  himself  to  Cape 
Town  to  have  them  printed.  He  actually  found  it  necessary  to  go  into 
the  Government  Printing  Office,  and  learn  to  do  it  himself.  This  was  a 
fortunate  misfortune,  as  it  happened,  for  soon  afterwards  he  was  able 
to  buy  a  printing  press  which  with  much  difficulty  was  transported  to 
Ku#uman,  and  which  proved  an  incalculable  gain  to  the  work  of  the 
mission.  In  1836  Scripture  Lessons  were  finished  and  formed  a  volume 
of  443  pages.  The  Shorter  Catechism  was  also  in  print  and  in  use. 

At  last  in  1838  the  entire  New  Testament  was  translated  and  it  was 
decided  that,  for  the  printing  and  publishing  of  this,  a  journey  to  Eng- 
land was  necessary.  This  was  their  first  visit  to  the  home  land,  and 
they  spent  five  years  there,  five  of  the  busiest  years  of  Moffat's  life. 
Railways  had  not  yet  come  into  existence,  but  he  travelled  in  coaches 
and  carriages  all  over  the  land,  speaking  to  great  audiences  concerning 
his  mission  work.  Throughout  his  journeyings  and  amidst  his  public 
labors,  he  was  busy  with  the  printing  of  his  New  Testament.  In  addi- 
tion, he  translated  the  Psalms  and  other  selections  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  also  wrote  his  large  and  well-known  book  entitled  "Missionary 
Travels,"  and  none  knows  what  else.  To  go  back  to  Kuruman  from  this 
kind  of  life  must  have  been  a  relief.  And  then  it  took  him  another 
twelve  years  ere  he  finished  the  Old  Testament. 

To  many  minds  this  stands  out  as  the  most  splendid  performance  of 
Moffat's  life.  It  must  be  remembered  that  he  had  the  task  of  reducing 
the  language  to  writing,  of  mastering  its  grammar  and  of  overcoming 
the  enormous  difficulties  of  finding  the  idioms  of  that  language  to  suit 
the  idioms  of  Scripture.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  for  this  gfeat 
task  he  had  in  his  youth  received  no  adequate  training  or  linguistic 
equipment,  yet  with  the  most  dogged  perseverance  he  set  himself  to 
compare  one  version  with  another  in  various  languages,  laboriously  and 
slowly,  when  at  critical  points  he  found  himself  in  doubt  as  to  the  find- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  315 

ing  of  Bechuana  equivalents.  No  wonder  that,  after  the  task  was  com- 
pleted, he  complained  that  he  felt  as  if  he  had  "shattered  his  brain." 

Throughout  his  life  Moffat  was  upheld  and  inspired  by  the  singu- 
larly noble  character  and  marvellous  energy  of  his  wife,  Mary  Smith 
Moffat.  Her  letters  are  among  the  most  brilliant  that  have  been  writ- 
ten from  any  mission  field.  Her  self-denial  was  beyond  measure. 
When  her  husband  went  on  his  long  journeys  with  her  God-speed,  she 
was  the  head  of  the  mission.  It  was  with  perhaps  a  noble  pride  that 
she  said  in  London  when  tneir  long  life  work  was  done  and  the  period 
of  rest  had  come,  "Robert  can  never  say  that  I  hindered  him  in  his 
work,"  and  this  her  husband  corroborated  from  a  full  heart. 

In  1870  Moffat,  amid  a  scene  of  singular  pathos,  surrounded  by  a 
great  crowd  of  natives  who  had  come  even  from  distant  towns  and  vil- 
lages, and  who  stood  mourning  and  weeping  around  his  wagons,  with  a 
fatherly  benediction  commending  them  to  the  Divine  Grace,  left  Kuru- 
man  for  the  last  time.  It  was  a  little  more  than  54  years  since  he 
landed  in  South  Africa.  The  rest  period  of  Mary  Moffat,  his  wife,  was 
not  long,  for  she  died  in  January  of  the  following  year.  But  Robert 
Moffat  lived  until  the  year  1883.  He  was  the  recipient  of  many  honors, 
among  the  most  important  of  which  were  the  presentation  of  £5,000 
(about  |25,000)  from  his  admirers,  and  the  bestowment  of  the  Doctor's 
degree  by  the  University  of  Edinburgh. 

Moffat's  name  will  forever  be  connected  with  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant features  in  South  African  development.  It  will  remain  as  an 
inspiration  for  all  who  admire  complete  .consecration  to  the  service  of 
man,  in  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ. 

SECTION    III.      DAVID    LIVINGSTONE. 

Among  the  greatest  names  of  the  19th  century  must  be  placed  that 
of  the  greatest  African  explorer,  David  Livingstone.  The  man  who 
began  life  as  the  son  of  humble  and  even  poor  parents  in  a  little 
Scottish  village,  whose  body  was  laid  in  Westminster  Abbey  amid  the 
admiration  and  grief  of  the  whole  civilized  world,  is  one  whose  life 
story  in  itself  is  of  great  importance  to  all  men.  To  us  in  these  pages 
it  is  important  because  more  than  half  of  his  missionary  and  exploring 
life  was  given  to  South  Africa,  and  in  various  ways  the  life  of  David 


;H<>  CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARIES. 

Livingstone  produced  marked  effects  upon  the  history  of  that  country. 
He  was  born  in  the  year  1813,  at  the  village  of  Blantyre,  near 
Glasgow,  Scotland.  His  parents,  Neil  Livingstone  and  Agnes  Hunter, 
were,  wThile  poor,  yet  intelligent  and  pious.  After  a  scanty  elementary 
education  David  Livingstone  was  sent  as  an  apprentice  to  a  wreaving 
establishment  at  ten  years  of  age.  His  first  wages  he  put  into  his 
mother's  lap,  and  immediately  afterwards  used  some  of  his  wages  to 
buy  a  Latin  grammar.  The  little  lad  of  ten  years  introduced  himself  to 
that  language,  working  after  his  long  day  of  toil  in  the  mill  by  lamplight 
even  until  11  and  12  o'clock  at  night  over  his  Latin  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary. He  became  an  omnivorous  reader,  devouring,  we  are  told,  every 
kind  of  book  that  came  in  his  way  except  novels.  In  this  he  differed 
from  some  people  nowadays  who  never  read  any  kind  of  book  except 
novels.  He  early  manifested  a  great  interest  in  natural  science,  col- 
lecting plants  and  specimens  of  fossils  and  in  every  way  extending  his 
knowledge  of  nature.  In  the  year  1836  he  entered  the  Glasgow  Uni- 
versity as  a  student,  returning  when  the  winter  session  was  over  to 
work  at  the  mill  for  his  living.  He  paid  all  his  own  expenses,  only  once 
having  found  it  necessary  to  borrow  a  little  money  from  an  elder 
brother.  At  the  end  of  two  years,  during  which  he  studied  principally 
in  the  department  of  medicine  he  carried  out  a  long-formed  resolve  to 
become  a  missionary,  by  applying  to  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
His  idea  was,  at  this  time  that  he  might  be  sent  to  China  and  undoubt- 
edly his  mind  was  directed  towards  the  interests  of  that  great  empire. 
After  two  years  more  of  study  in  London,  which  wTere  divided  between 
the  classics,  theology  and  medicine,  he  was,  in  November,  1840,  ordained 
as  a  missionary  and  sailed  for  South  Africa.  It  was  a  long  voyage,  as 
the  ship  first  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  Brazil  before  proceeding  to  the 
Cape,  but  Livingstone  used  this  time  as  few  passengers  have  been  able 
to  use  similar  opportunities  in  hard  study  at  theology  and  in  acquiring 
the  art  of  taking  observations  with  the  quadrant.  The  captain  became 
interested  in  him  and  spent  night  after  night  instructing  him  in  what 
became  to  him  of  vast  importance  wrhen  in  after  years  exploring  new 
lands  and  fixing  the  geographical  situation  of  new  places  by  means  of 
sun  and  stars.  His  first  long  journey  by  ox  wagon  was  made  from  Port 
Elizabeth  to  Kuruman,  a  mission  station  in  South  Bechuanaland  about 


<D  OQ  "o 

5  »£ 
.£5 

a*" 

5  •••* 

&     "fi-a 
W     .P* 

••     S  SR  S 
•p"    s  ?j ; 


O 
K 

o 


or  ^-sS 

w  i«o 

E  Sll 

*•*  1  fl  a 


Bf 

O 


0 

O    s^^o 

O        IB-iS 
Oljj'O 

_  <s  ^"O 

^a     oj  <u 

5  M^  >> 

^-a%> 
gS  °  fl 

&3    - 


DURBAN— MAIN    STREET 


DURBAN— ROAD    TO    THE    BEREA 

The  beautiful  city  of  Durban  is  celebrated  especially  for  the  fashionable  district  called  the  Berea. 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  310 

200  miles  from  the  present  town  of  Kimberley,  where  the  famous  Robert 
Moffat  had  his  station.  He  felt  the  restrictions  placed  upon  him  by 
the  African  mode  of  travel  keenly,  enjoyed  of  course  the  freedom  for 
walking,  riding,  shooting,  and  observing  the  phenomena  of  nature,  but 
he  missed  the  opportunity  for  consecutive  reading  and  study.  In  the 
year  1842  he  set  out  on  a  tour  in  Bechuanaland,  partly  for  the  purpose 
of  fixing  upon  new  mission  stations  and  partly  for  the  purpose  of 
throwing  himself  thoroughly  among  the  natives  so  as  to  acquire  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  their  language  and  manners. 

Livingstone's  first  station  was  at  Mabotsa,  situated  more  than  100 
miles  northeast  of  Kuruman.  Here  he  set  to  work,  as  almost  every 
South  African  missionary  has  had  to  do,  to  build  his  own  dwelling 
house,  to  make  his  own  garden,  and  to  carry  on  these  operations  with 
the  most  inefficient  help  conceivable. 

It  was  while  living  in  the  lovely  valley  of  Mabotsa  that  Livingstone 
had  that  encounter  with  the  lion  which  is  associated  with  his  name 
wherever  that  name  is  known.  The  district  was  infested  with  lions, 
which  had  become  terribly  bold  through  their  comparative  immunity 
from  attack.  The  natives,  being  without  guns  and  being  of  a  timid  dis- 
position, had  been  unable  to  slaughter  even  one  of  their  fierce  assailants. 
Livingstone  agreed  to  help  them,  knowing  that  if  even  one  only  of  the 
lions  was  killed  the  others  would  probably  move  away  from  the  district. 
He  accordingly  summoned  the  people  to  join  him  in  hunting  them,  and 
a  large  body  of  men  moved  out  towards  a  small  wooded  hill  which  they 
were  known  to  infest.  They  formed  a  large  ring  around  this  hill  and 
began  to  close  in  upon  it.  One  or  two  lions  were  seen,  but  the  attempt 
to  shoot  them  failed  until  at  last  they  came  upon  one  standing  on  a  rock 
looking  upon  his  human  assailants  in  terrible  wrath.  Livingstone,  who 
was  only  about  thirty  yards  distant,  promptly  fired  at  it  with  both 
barrels  in  quick  succession.  The  natives  shouted,  "He  is  shot,  he  is 
shot,"  but  ere  Livingstone  could  reload  his  gun  the  great  beast  was 
upon  him.  He  himself  has  told  the  story  in  the  following  words: 

"Starting,  and  looking  half  round,"  says  Livingstone,  "I  saw  the 
lion  just  in  the  act  of  springing  upon  me.  I  was  upon  a  little  height. 
He  caught  my  shoulder  as  he  sprang,  and  we  both  came  down  to  the 
ground  below  together.  Growling  terribly  close  to  my  ear,  he  shook  me 


320  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

as  a  terrier  does  a  rat.  The  shock  produced  a  stupor  similar  to  that 
which  seems  to  be  felt  by  a  mouse  after  the  first  shake  of  a  cat.  It 
caused  a  sort  of  dreaminess,  in  which  there  was  no  sense  of  pain,  nor 
feeling  of  terror,  though  quite  conscious  of  all  that  was  happening. 
It  was  like  what  patients,  partially  under  the  influence  of  chloroform, 
describe,  who  see  all  the  operation  but  feel  not  the  knife.  This  singular 
condition  was  not  the  result  of  any  mental  process.  The  shake  annihi- 
lated fear,  and  allowed  no  sense  of  horror  in  looking  round  at  the  beast. 
This  peculiar  state  is  probably  produced  in  all  animals  killed  by  the 
carnivora;  and,  if  so,  is  a  merciful  provision  made  by  our  benevolent 
Creator  for  lessening  the  pain  of  death.  Turning  around  to  relieve 
myself  of  the  weight,  as  he  had  one  paw  on  the  back  of  my  head,  I  saw 
his  eyes  directed  towards  Mebalwe,  who  was  trying  to  shoot  him  at  a 
distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  yards.  His  gun,  a  flint  one,  missed  fire  in  both 
barrels;  the  lion  immediately  left  me,  and,  attacking  Mebalwe,  bit  his 
thigh.  Another  man,  whose  hip  I  had  cured  before,  after  he  had  been 
tossed  by  a  buffalo,  attempted  to  spear  the  lion  while  he  was  biting 
Mebalwe;  he  left  Mebalwe  and  caught  this  man  by  the  shoulder,  but  at 
that  moment  the  bullets  he  had  received  began  to  take  effect,  and  he 
fell  down  dead.  .  .  .  Besides  crunching  the  bone  into  splinters,  he 
left  eleven  teeth  wounds  in  my  arm." 

The  memory  of  this  story  should  always  include  the  name  of  the 
brave  native  teacher  who  came  to  the  rescue  of  Livingstone,  and  with- 
out whose  courageous  act  the  lion  might  very  probably  have  had  time  to 
inflict  a  vital  wound  upon  its  victim.  Livingstone,  through  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life,  suffered  from  this  wound.  He  was  unable  per- 
fectly to  set  the  bones  of  his  own  arm  and  had  no  surgeon  to  help  him, 
the  result  being  that  ever  after  he  could  use  the  arm  only  in  certain 
positions  and  with  pain.  It  is  said  also  that  exactly  one  year  from 
the  infliction  of  the  wound  it  broke  out  again,  causing  him  great  suf- 
fering and  trouble.  Livingstone's  magnificent  journeys  of  exploration 
which  took  him  through  the  most  toilsome  experiences  possible,  were  all 
carried  out  under  the  limitations  put  upon  his  bodily  strength  and 
agility  by  this  misfortune  in  his  early  missionary  career. 

In  the  year  1844  he  became  engaged  to  Mary  Moffat,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  the  famous  Robert  Moffat  of  Kuruman.  After  their  mar- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  321 

riage  they  found  it  necessary  to  remove  to  another  station,  from  which 
again  they  moved  to  Kolobeng,  the  town  of  the  well  known  Bechuana 
chief  named  Sechele.  At  each  of  these  stations  the  labor  of  building 
had  to  be  undertaken,  and  the  hard  work  of  beginning  missionary  work 
in  a  new  field  had  to  be  faced.  Sechele  himself  became  an  ardent  friend 
of  the  missionaries,  learned  to  read,  and  spent  much  time  in  reading  the 
Christian  Scriptures.  It  was  long  before  he  was  able  to  make  an  open 
profession  of  Christianity,  and  to  the  last  there  were  many  unfriendly 
critics  of  his  somewhat  complex  character  who  doubted  his  sincerity 
and  pointed  to  unmistakable  defects  in  him  as  proof  positive  that  his 
profession  was  born  of  prudential  motives. 

It  was  while  here  that  Livingstone  came  for  the  first  time,  but  with 
the  worst  result  to  himself,  into  contact  with  the  Boers.  The  Boers,  as 
we  have  seen  elsewhere  in  these  pages,  had  at  this  time  crossed  the  Vaal 
River,  formed  themselves  into  various  companies  or  commandos,  with  a 
very  loose  connection  with  one  another,  and  considered  that  the  entire 
region  in  which  they  found  themselves  was  their  land  to  occupy  and 
deal  with  as  they  chose.  Each  native  tribe  they  considered,  to  start  with, 
as  an  enemy  that  must  be  crushed.  Especially  did  they  found  their  claim 
to  the  land  upon  the  victory  over  the  Moselekatse  and  his  Zulu  warriors 
whom  they  had  driven  off.  The  Boers  intensely  disliked  the  efforts  of 
the  missionaries  sent  from  London  by  the  London  Missionary  Society 
to  push  east  and  north  into  the  heart  of  the  continent,  for  wherever 
these  men  went  they  proved  themselves  the  courageous  and  unfailing 
friends  of  the  natives,  and  the  stern  opponents  and  exposers  of  all 
ruthless  and  unjust  deeds  done  upon  them  by  white  men  of  any  class 
or  of  any  race.  Frequently  the  Boers  interfered  with  their  plans  and 
prevented  the  undertaking  of  journeys  which  would  have  been  greatly 
for  the  benefit  of  the  mission  work.  On  one  occasion  they  turned  back 
another  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Moffat,  who  was  moving  northwards  to  open 
a  new  station  beyond  Dr.  Livingstone.  They  succeeded  in  persuading 
him  to  return  only  by  using  personal  violence  against  him.  Next 
to  the  white  missionary  the  Boers  intensely  disliked  every  effort  to 
settle  a  native  missionary  in  any  of  these  native  towns.  Moreover  it 
must  be  observed  in  the  bare  name  of  truth  and  reality  that  the  Boer 
commandos  held  no  national  or  international  standing  whatsoever  at 


322  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

this  time.  They  had  no  fixed  authorities,  they  moved  about  and  spread 
themselves  over  the  country,  invading  the  lands  occupied  by  organized 
and  not  savage  native  tribes,  whom  they  destroyed  or  deprived  of  the 
best  of  their  lands  and  then  treated  practically  as  their  vassals.  Their 
interference  accordingly  with  the  efforts  of  missionaries  to  begin  work 
either  personally  or  through  native  agents  in  these  Bechuana  towns 
is  absolutely  without  excuse  or  defense.  Their  proceedings  very  serious- 
ly interfered  with  the  development  of  plans  which  were  being  initiated 
and  pushed  by  Dr.  Livingstone  regarding  the  appointment  of  native 
teachers,  which  would  have  very  surely  altered  for  the  better  the  entire 
history  of  that  vast  region  during  the  last  fifty  years.  During  this 
early  period  of  his  life  Livingstone  made  many  journeys.  On  these 
journeys  he  made  it  a  practice  to  carry  on  observations  of  the  most 
valuable  kind  regarding  plants,  animals,  as  well  as  human  tribes  and 
customs  of  the  land.  Much  of  what  is  now  known  concerning  the  fauna 
and  flora  as  well  as  the  geology  of  South  Central  Africa  began  to  be 
known  through  the  reports  which  this  wide-minded  and  intrepid  mis- 
sionary made  from  time  to  time  to  men  of  science  in  England  and  Scot- 
land. 

In  the  year  1847  the  Boers,  enraged  at  Sechele's  independent  spirit, 
attacked  Kolobeng  wrhile  t>r.  Livingstone  was  absent  in  the  south. 
Livingstone  has  himself  given  a  full  account  of  the  wreck  of  his  own 
station,  the  destruction  of  his  medicines,  his  books,  his  valuable  diaries, 
and  the  carrying  off  of  his  precious  furniture  by  these  white  marauders. 
All  attempts  to  disprove  this  act  of  the  Boers  must  be  confronted  with 
the  plain  fact  that  Livingstone  himself  shortly  afterwards  on  his  return 
to  the  station  considered  the  evidence  absolutely  conclusive  that  not 
the  natives,  as  some  would  suggest,  but  the  Boers  themselves  had 
wrought  this  cruel  vengeance  upon  the  missionary  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  friend  of  the  natives.  In  the  year  1849  Livingstone  set  out  upon  his 
second  journey  northwards.  On  the  former  occasion  he  had  traveled 
as  far  as  a  point  about  ten  days  journey  distant  from  Lake  Ngami;  on 
this  occasion  he  determined  to  press  onwards  until  he  should  reach 
the  land  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  of  which  accounts  frequent  and  en- 
thusiastic had  reached  him  from  the  lips  of  natives.  They  told  him 
of  a  region  that  was  entirely  unlike  the  vast  deserts  familiar  to  him 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  323 

and  his  fellow  missionaries  in  Bechuanaland,  "A  country  full  of  rivers," 
they  said,  "so  many  no  one  can  tell  their  number,  and  full  of  large 
trees."  It  was  in  the  month  of  August,  1849,  that  at  last  Livingstone 
made  his  first  great  geographical  discovery,  and  stood  on  the  shores 
of  Lake  Ngami.  He  has  recorded  with  enthusiasm  the  feeling  of  joy 
and  triumph  that  swept  through  his  heart  when  he  beheld  that  noble 
sheet  of  water.  He  traveled  back  along  the  banks  of  the  Zouga  River, 
which  flows  out  of  Lake  Ngami,  but  which,  alas,  ere  long  loses  itself 
in  the  desert  sands;  for  a  considerable  distance  it  is  as  he  tells 
us  a  glorious  river,  its  banks  lined  with  gigantic  trees  and  the  region 
inhabited  by  a  "fine,  frank  race  of  men." 

Dr.  Livingstone  on  this  occasion  had  failed  to  reach  what  he  most 
desired,  a  healthy  region  where  European  missionaries  might  settle 
without  danger  of  incurring  the  deadly  fever.  Accordingly,  in  the  year 
1850,  he  set  out  again  in  the  same  direction  and  penetrated  farther  than 
before.  In  1851  he  made  the  long  and  weary  journey  once  more.  This 
time  he  took  with  him  his  family,  and  terrible  were  the  sufferings  of 
himself  and  his  wife  and  children  as  they  crossed  the  wide,  waterless 
deserts.  On  one  occasion  they  were  for  four  or  five  days  without  water, 
and  the  agonized  parents  felt  as  if  they  must  watch  their  children  perish 
with  thirst  when  a  native  appeared  with  a  small  supply,  and  guided 
them  to  the  fountain  from  which  it  came. 

No  doubt  in  one  way  this  brave  missionary  was  aided  in  his 
dealings  with  the  natives  by  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Livingstone 
and  the  children,  for  the  natives  were  suspicious  of  any  lone  white 
man  traveling  with  guns  and  servants,  and  unable  to  give  to  them  an 
account  of  himself  which  they  would  feel  to  be  intelligible;  but  when 
he  brought  his  household  with  him  the  proof  was  at  hand  that  he  desired 
above  all  to  settle  among  them,  not  as  a  marauder  or  a  conquering  war- 
rior, but  simply  as  a  teacher  seeking  to  do  them  a  good  which  they 
could  not  appreciate  perhaps,  but  whose  reality  seemed  great  to  him. 
Everywhere  missionaries  have  borne  witness  to  the  influence  exerted 
upon  the  minds  of  the  heathen  by  the  presence  of  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren. Nevertheless  at  the  conclusion  of  this  journey  Dr.  Livingstone  had 
decided  that  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  take  his  precious  ones  with 
him  on  the  next  great  exploration,  which  already  was  in  his  mind. 


324  CHRISTIAN    MISSIONARIES. 

Accordingly  he  decided  that  they  must  go  to  England  and  remain  there 
until  he  should  go  for  them.  He  went  to  Cape  Town  to  arrange  for 
their  voyage  home,  and  bid  them  farewell,  and  also  to  have  a  slight 
operation  performed  upon  his  throat  which  was  necessary  to  his  health 
and  comfort.  The  pain  with  which  he  parted  with  his  children  finds 
expression  over  and  over  again  in  letters  written  at  this  time.  In  one 
passage  he  avows  that  the  only  explanation  and  defence  he  can  offer 
is  that  he  feels  confident  of  a  call  of  Providence  summoning  him  to 
regions  beyond.  He  had  two  overwhelming  motives  for  this  extraor- 
dinary and  tremendous  burden  which  he  was  undertaking.  First,  he  was 
determined  to  find  that  healthy  region  which  must  lie  beyond  and  above 
the  level  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  he  had  seen,  where  missionaries  could 
be  settled  and  Christian  work  begun.  Secondly,  he  had  come  to  see 
that  the  slave  trade  was  invading  southern  Africa.  Tribes  hitherto 
innocent  of  that  degrading  practice  had  recently  been  drawn  into  it  by 
the  discovery  that  they  could  exchange  children  for  guns.  Guns  had 
come  to  be  considered  the  most  precious  of  possessions,  inasmuch  as 
only  those  who  owrned  and  used  them  could  hope  to  hold  their  own 
against  other  tribes  already  so  armed.  Livingstone  was  determined  to 
see  if  no  other  route  could  be  opened  up  either  to  the  east  or  to  the 
west  coast  of  the  continent,  which  should  make  it  possible  to  develop 
trade  connections  of  a  healthier  order  between  the  European  world 
and  these  benighted  tribes  of  Central  Africa.  They  were  too  far  from 
the  Cape  and  the  journey  too  expensive  to  allowr  of  regular  trade  in 
that  direction.  Dr.  Livingstone  imagined  there  might  be  water  com- 
munications between  the  coast  and  these  central  regions,  which  as  yet 
had  not  been  discovered  or  made  use  of.  These  were  the  hopes  and 
these  the  motives  which  filled  the  mind  of  that  true  hero  of  our  century, 
when,  having  bidden  farewell  to  his  nearest,  he  set  out  alone  on  a  toil- 
some journey  which  lasted  no  less  than  five  years. 

To  begin  with  he  covered  the  route  already  so  well  known 
to  him,  passed  Lake  Ngami  up  to  the  Zambesi,  at  a  point 
which  he  had  discovered,  till  he  reached  the  lovely  country 
of  the  Barotsi,  which  by  the  bye  has  long  been  said  to  be 
an  object  of  eager  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal. 
Dr.  Livingstone  there  labored,  as  he  always  did  everywhere,  amongst 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  325 

the  native  tribes  as  a  simple  missionary  of  the  Gospel.  He  preached  and 
succeeded  in  deeply  interesting  large  numbers  of  the  people.  At  last 
with  twenty-seven  followers  to  whom  he  gave  a  pledge  before  they  would 
consent  to  accompany  him  that  he  would  bring  them  back,  he  set  out  for 
St.  Paul  de  Loanda,  a  Portuguese  seaport,  in  the  province  of  Angola, 
on  the  west  coast.  The  entire  journey  was  made  on  foot  or  on  ox-back. 
He  was  attacked  over  and  over  again  with  fever,  and  was  reduced  to 
great  weakness;  nevertheless  he  persevered  in  taking  his  astronomical 
observations  and  accurately  fixing  the  route  from  day  to  day.  He  did 
not  reach  the  coast  until  May  31, 1854,  and  there  remained  some  months 
in  the  home  of  the  English  consul,  months  of  intense  satisfaction  to 
him  and  comfort  of  mind.  His  companion  and  host  was  a  man  evi- 
dently well  fitted  to  awake  his  interest  and  confidence,  and  he  ever 
afterwards  remembered. his  kindness  during  these  months.  From  here 
Livingstone  wrote  long  letters  of  a  personal  nature  and  learned  com- 
munications to  men  of  science  at  the  Cape  and  in  London.  These,  un- 
fortunately, were  lost  by  the  sinking  of  the  vessel  which  conveyed  them, 
and  Livingstone  had  to  stop  after  having  set  out  on  his  eastward  journey 
to  copy  out  once  more  these  precious  documents  through  weeks  of 
patient  labor.  It  is  well  at  this  point  to  note  that  men  of  science  were 
amazed  and  filled  with  admiration  at  the  extraordinary  accuracy  and 
value  of  Livingstone's  geographical  observations.  One  of  them,  Mr.  Mac- 
lear,  the  Astronomer  Royal  at  the  Cape,  repeatedly  gave  expression  to 
this  admiration  and  on  one  occasion,  after  detailing  the  laboriousness 
of  this  branch  of  his  work  and  the  enormous  amount  of  it,  he  exclaimed: 
"How  completely  all  this  stamps  the  impress  of  Livingstone  on  the 
interior  of  South  Africa.  I  say,  what  that  man  has  done  is  unprece- 
dented. You  could  go- to  any  point  across  the  entire  continent,  along 
Livingstone's  track,  and  feel  sure  of  your  position." 

Dr.  Livingstone  might  have  been  moved  to  sail  from  Loanda  for 
England  but  for  that  immovable  fidelity  of  soul  which  compelled  him 
to  return  with  his  native  companions  to  their  own  country  as  he  had 
promised  to  do.  He  started  from  Loanda  Sept.  20,  1854,  retraversed 
most  of  his  former  route  until  he  came  to  Linyanti.  Thence  he  set  out 
for  the  east  coast.  Shortly  after  starting  he  came  upon  the  now  famous 
Victoria  Falls,  the  marvelous  rivals  of  the  American  Niagara,  which  he 


326  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

first  of  intelligent  Europeans  saw  and  named.  At  this  point  the  great 
Zambesi  River,  hundreds  of  yards  in  width,  comes  upon  a  fissure  in  the 
earth  which  is  only  80  feet  wide  and  310  feet  deep.  The  whole  river 
falls  into  this  rent,  sending  up  columns  of  steam  into  the  air.  At  the 
bottom  it  runs  along  this  strange  crack  in  the  crust  of  the  earth  which 
zig-zags  for  thirty  miles,  after  that  the  river  flows  out  into  a  calm  and 
visible  and  noble  stream  again.  Between  this  point  and  the  coast 
Livingstone  met  with  terrific  difficulties  with  the  tribes,  nearly  all  of 
whom  received  him  with  a  suspicion  and  hostility  surpassing  any  of  his 
former  experiences.  On  several  occasions  it  seemed  as  if  he  must  perish 
at  their  hands.  But  He  had  infinite  tact  and  strong  Christian  patience. 
He  never  threatened  vengeance,  he  never  lifted  a  gun,  but  trusting 
to  the  persuasiveness  of  a  frank  manner  and  a  kind  eye  and  a  firm  will 
he  won  his  way  through  tribe  after  tribe  in  safety.  It  should  be  here 
said  of  Livingstone,  what  alas  cannot  be  said  of  many  of  the  great 
African  explorers,  that  wherever  he  went  it  was  easier  for  a  white  man 
to  follow.  Other  men  who  bullied  and  fought  and  shot  made  it  infinitely 
hard  for  any  others  to  pass  in  safety  through  those  regions  where  they 
left  a  trail  of  cruelty  and  bloodshed.  It  was  not  until  May  20,  1856, 
that  Livingstone  completed  his  magnificent  task  by  reaching  the  sea- 
port of  Quilimane.  He  himself  records  that  Arabs  had  made  this 
journey  from  west  to  east  before  him,  but  he  was  the  first  European  who 
had  made  it  and  the  first  man  to  make  it  with  an  intelligent  purpose, 
and  so  describe  it  as  to  enable  others  to  follow  in  his  footsteps.  The 
magnificence  of  the  heroism  aroused  enthusiasm  throughout  the  civil- 
ized world  and  his  name  became  immediately  famous  as  that  of  the 
humble  missionary  who  had  walked  literally  to  the  front  of  all  living 
travelers  and  explorers. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  wherever  Livingstone  went 
at  this  time  or  hereafter  he  went  as  the  Christian  preacher  who  used 
every  opportunity  to  make  known  his  message,  and  who  had,  above 
all,  undertaken  the  great  work  of  exploration  with  the  single  pur- 
pose of  opening  up  the  dark  continent  to  the  light  of  religious 
truth.  It  was  therefore  in  strong  conformity  with  his  abiding  purpose 
that  he  said,  "Viewed  in  relation  to  my  enterprise  the  end  of  the 
geographical  feat  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise."  When  Liv- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  327 

ingstone  reached  London  he  found  himself  the  lion  of  the  day.  He  was 
honored,  yea,  loaded  with  honors  and  compelled  to  speak  on  all  kinds 
of  platforms  until  he  felt  as  tired  of  his  life  in  England  as  of  any  African 
journey  he  had  made.  It  was  stated  in  public  by  one  who  knew,  that 
at  this  time  he  had  performed  journeys  amounting  to  no  less  than 
11,000  miles.  When  one  remembers  that  most  of  that  was  done  on  foot 
it  is  interesting  to  read  his  own  words  on  that  matter.  "Pedestrian- 
ism,"  he  says,  "may  be  all  very  well  for  those  whose  obesity  requires 
much  exercise;  but  for  one  who  is  becoming  as  thin  as  a  lath  through 
the  constant  perspiration  caused  by  marching  day  after  day  in  a  hot 
sun,  the  only  good  I  saw  in  it  was  that  it  gave  an  honest  sort  of  a  man 
a  vivid  idea  of  the  tread-mill." 

After  spending  about  two  years  in  his  home  land  Living- 
stone set  out,  this  time  as  a  British  Consul  and  the  official 
head  of  an  exploring  party,  for  the  Zambesi  in  the  spring  of 
1858.  On  this  journey -he  once  more  reached  Linyanti,  where  he  was 
distressed  to  find  that  missionaries  of  the  London  Missionary  Society 
who  had  expected  to  meet  him  there  had  arrived  during  the  previous 
season  and  many  of  the  party  h*ad  perished  with  fever.  Thereafter 
Livingstone's  journeys  and  explorations  belong  to  the  history  not  of 
South  but  of  Central  and  Northern  Africa.  His  name,  however,  is 
stamped  upon  the  history  of  South  Africa  as  the  man  who  so  repeat- 
edly made  those  journeys  northwards  from  Kolobeng,  that  he  thor- 
oughly opened  the  entire  region  up  to  and  beyond  Lake  Ngami.  He 
first,  by  his  journey  from  \vest  to  east,  drew  the  line  along  the  great 
river  systems  which,  since  found,  has  been  treated  as  marking  the 
northern  limits  of  South  or  as  it  has  been  called  Austral  Africa.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  he  did  more  than  any  man  to  arouse  an  intelligent  interest 
in  those  vast  regions,  to  draw  not  only  the  attention  of  missionary  so- 
cieties but  of  great  commercial  companies  to  the  possibilities  for  religion, 
civilization  and  commerce  among  the  peoples  and  in  the  glorious  regions 
of  Central  Africa.  When  he  died  on  that  last  journey  of  his,  and  his 
faithful  native  servants  embalmed  his  body  and  carried  it  hundreds  of 
miles  at  the  danger  of  their  own  lives  eastward  to  Zanzibar,  and  thence 
brought  it  to  England,  the  whole  civilized  world  was  moved  to  its 
depths  at  the  contemplation  of  his  glorious  life.  And  when  it  was  re- 


328  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

solved  to  lay  this  son  of  a  humble  Scotch  workman,  himself  trained  as 
a  weaver,  and  ordained  as  a  missionary  to  South  African  natives  under 
the  roof  of  Westminster  Abbey  consecrated  as  the  receptacle  of  the  dust 
only  of  the  greatest  of  Britain's  sons,  men  universally  felt  that  this  son 
deserved  that  honor  even  above  many  who  have  received  it. 

SECTION   IV.     JOHN    MACKENZIE. 

A  few  years  ago  no  name  was  more  constantly  in  the  mouths  of 
South  African  rulers  and  statesmen  than  that  of  the  Scottish  mission- 
ary, John  Mackenzie.  He  was  born  in  the  north  of  Scotland  in  the  year 
1835,  finished  his  schooling  when  he  was  about  13,  and  then  became 
apprenticed  to  a  printer  with  whom  he  served  nearly  seven  years.  He 
obtained  release  from  his  contract  in  order  to  proceed  to  London  to 
prepare  for  his  career  as  a  missionary  of  the  Gospel.  In  the  year  1858 
he  was  ordained  in  the  city  of  Edinburgh,  and  married,  and  sailed  in 
June  on  the  S.  S.  "Athens"  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  was  one  of 
a  band  of  young  missionaries  who  were  being  sent  out  to  open  a  new 
mission  station  among  the  Makololo,  far  north  on  the  banks  of  the  Zam- 
besi. These  people  were  driven  to  an  ^unhealthy  region  by  the  Matebele 
tribe  of  Zulus.  In  their  new  habitat  they  had  been  visited  by  Dr.  Liv- 
ingstone, who  somehow  got  the  impression  that  they  would  be  willing 
to  move  to  a  higher  and  healthier  region  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Zam- 
besi River  and  there  receive  missionaries. 

Livingstone  had  originally  intended  and  attempted  to  extend  his 
missionary  operations  eastwards  from  Kolobeng  across  the  north  part  of 
the  Transvaal,  but  in  this  he  had  been  checked  by  the  hostility  of  the 
Boers.  The  policy  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  who  had  sent  him 
out  was  therefore  changed  by  the  Boers  at  that  early  date,  and  they 
were  forced  to  seek  an  extension  of  their  work  by  penetrating  into  the 
heart  of  the  continent.  The  young  missionaries  proceeded  first,  by  ox 
wagon  of  course,  to  Kurunian,  where  they  gathered  around  the  vener- 
able Robert  Moffat  for  the  study  of  native  languages  and  customs,  and 
in  order  to  prepare  for  their  bold  and  yet  magnificent  venture  into  the 
regions  beyond.  It  was  deemed  advisable  that,  at  first,  Mr.  Helmore 
and  Mr.' Roger  Price,  with  their  wives  and  families,  should  proceed  in 
the  year  1859,  and  that  they  should  be  followed  in  the  ensuing  year  by 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  329 

John  Mackenzie  with  fresh  supplies.  The  road  as  far  as  Shoshong,  at 
that  time  the  capital  of  Khama's  country,  was  to  some  extent  familiar 
and  without  danger,  but  after  that  the  difficulties  began.  Passing  to 
the  northwest  of  what  is  now  the  town  of  Buluwayo  they  had  to  tra- 
verse a  practically  desert  region  in  the  dry  season.  Both  years  the  mis- 
sionary travellers  suffered  intensely.  John  Mackenzie  somehow  man- 
aged to  escape  the  extreme  privations  which  his  predecessors  encoun- 
tered, but  the  sufferings  even  of  his  party  were  at  several  points  most 
critical.  They  were  dependent  upon  the  guidance  of  Bushmen,  whose 
language  they  did  not  understand  and  of  whose  faithfulness  they  were 
not  always  sure. 

After  a  tedious  and  exhausting  experience  John  Mackenzie  found 
himself  in  the  region  of  Lake  Ngarni  on  the  Zouga  River,  where,  to  his 
consternation,  he  began  to  hear  rumors  of  a  disaster  having  overtaken 
his  fellow  missionaries  ahead  of  him.  At  first  the  rumors  were  rejected 
as  due  to  the  desire  on  the  part  of  a  certain  tribe  to  deflect  the  course 
of  his  journey  to  the  capital  of  that  tribe,  who  desired  also  to  have  the 
honor  of  receiving  white  missionaries.  The  stories  became  more  and 
more  definite  until  on  the  banks  of  the  Zambesi  one  dreadful  day  he 
found  himself  face  to  face  with  his  friend  Roger  Price,  the  latter  sick 
in  body  and  evidently  sorely  stricken  at  heart.  Gradually  the  dreadful 
story  was  unfolded  which  John  Mackenzie  in  after  years  related  in 
his  first  book  entitled  "Ten  Years  North  of  the  Orange  River."  Dr.  Liv- 
ingstone had  not  met  the  party  and  they  had  waited  on  in  a  malarial 
region  through  the  rainy  season,  contrary  to  all  prudence.  They 
sickened  one  after  another,  children  died,  native  servants  died,  the 
Helmores  died,  Mrs.  Price  died,  and  the  sick  who  remained  had  to  rise, 
shaking  with  fever,  from  their  beds  of  despair  to  bury  the  sick  who  had 
died. 

The  news  of  this  disaster  produced  a  great  sensation  in  England 
and  the  project  of  settling  with  the  tribe  in  question  was  of  course 
abandoned. 

After  a  considerable  period  of  uncertainty,  the  minds  of  the  directors 
in  London  being  undecided,  John  Mackenzie  settled  at  the  important 
center  of  Shoshong.  At  that  time  the  chief  of  the  tribe  was  Sekhomi, 
a  dark  minded,  able,  crafty,  and  iuveterately  heathen  man.  His  two 


330  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

sons,  Khania  and  Khamane,  were  brought  into  the  Christian  life  mainly 
through  the  efforts  of  a  Hanoverian  missionary  who  had  been  stationed 
there  for  several  years.  But  the  training  of  these  two  young  men  now 
/ell  into  the  hands  of  John  Mackenzie.  Theirs  was  no  easy  lot.  Khania 
as  the  eldest  son  was  expected  to  take  part  in  various  heathen  practices, 
which,  however,  he  firmly  but  finally  refused  to  do.  Then  the  father 
insisted  that  in  order  to  uphold  his  dignity  he  must  marry  more  than 
one  wife.  This  led,  on  Khama's  refusal,  to  war.  Khama  and  his  sym- 
pathizers, who  were  numerous,  fled  to  the  mountain  top,  overlooking  the 
town,  and  there  hid  themselves  among  the  rocks  and  caves.  For  some 
weeks  they  remained  there  and  efforts  were  made  from  time  to  time  by 
Sekhomi  to  dislodge  them.  Skirmishes  took  place,  in  which,  however, 
there  was  little  loss  of  life.  An  attempt  was  made  on  one  dark  night  to 
poison  the  well  at  which  Khama's  people  obtained  water,  but  to  the 
terror  and  chagrin  of  Sekhomi  the  poor  wizard  and  poisoner  was  himself 
shot  dead.  This  and  other  instances  displaying  the  courage  and  inde- 
pendence of  the  young  chiefs  at  last  broke  down  Sekhonii's  determina- 
tion and  they  returned. 

During  these  weeks  of  strife  John  Mackenzie  had  a  difficult  task. 
He  was  of  course  known  to  be  the  teacher  of  Khama  and  instigator, 
therefore,  of  his  rebellious  attitude,  as  it  was  called.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
it  was  largely  his  influence  which  not  only  kept  Khama  steady  and 
strong  in  his  Christian  determination,  but  respectful  and  deferential 
in  every  matter  and  even  in  the  discussion  of  this  matter  towards  his 
heathen  father.  When  the  strife  broke  out  the  missionary  went  down 
to  the  court  of  the  chief  and  interviewed  him.  The  chief  pretended  to 
be  in  a  great  rage  at  him  and  threatened  him,  but  was  met  with  un- 
flinching and  quiet  courage.  On  the  first  Sunday  the  missionary  went 
down  and  announced  it  as  his  purpose  to  go  up  to  the  mountain  and 
hold  services  with  the  chiefs  sons.  This  seemed  a  startling  proposal 
and  once  more  evoked  expressions  of  rage  from  the  chief.  Undaunted, 
the  missionary  went.  On  another  Sunday  he  saw  the  chief  summon  with 
significant  looks  one  of  his  worst  emissaries  of  evil,  into  whose  ear  he 
whispered  something  and  who  immediately  slunk  away  from  the  court. 
This  man  or  one  sent  by  him  was  seen  by  John  Mackenzie  with  a  gun, 
lurking  among  the  rocks  beside  the  path  which  he  must  take  to  reach 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  331 

the  refuge  of  the  outcast  sons.  He  walked  quietly  past,  without  shrink- 
ing, and  nothing  happened.  Thereafter  he  went  and  came  unquestioned 
and  unhindered,  preaching  ever  the  good  tidings,  and  advocating  both 
with  father  and  sons  the  love  of  peace  and  the  wrays  of  righteousness. 
It  was  beyond  doubt  that  the  influence  of  his  powerful  and  yet  calm 
character  and  demeanor  did  much  to  arrest  the  progress  of  this  civil 
war. 

The  Bamangwato,  which  is  the  name  of  the  tribe  over  whom  Sek- 
homi  was  chief,  had  long  been  threatened  by  an  attack  from  Moselekatse, 
the  dreaded  and  ruthless  chief  of  the  Matebele  tribe.  He  who  had  oblit- 
erated tribe  after  tribe  in  his  terrible  march  from  Natal  to  the  region  of 
the  Zambesi  felt  himself  able  easily  to  descend  upon  the  unwarlike 
Bamangwato  and  scatter  them  to  the  winds.  The  news  came,  borne  by 
swift  and  excited  messengers  from  the  northeast,  that  several  regiments 
of  the  Matebele  were  on  their  way  to  attack  Shoshong.  At  once  Sek- 
homi  proceeded  to  make  arrangements  for  meeting  the  dreaded  foe.  His 
plan  of  campaign  depended  upon  the  question  whether  the  Matebele 
would  attempt  to  attack  the  town  by  descending  through  the  narrow 
kloof  or  gorge  between  the  hills,  through  which  the  little  river  ran,  or  ap- 
proach the  town  from  the  other  side,  attacking  it  on  the  open  plain.  He 
consulted  much  with  his  sons  and  with  the  missionary.  The  latter 
offered  to  go  out  and  meet  the  Matebele,  and  attempt  to  dissuade  them 
from  their  proposal;  but  the  natives  were  unanimous  in  asserting  that 
this  would  prove  a  most  dangerous,  very  probably  a  fatal  adventure. 
Khama  especially  was  urgent  that  no  such  risk  should  be  run. 

The  chief  was  delighted  while  also  surprised  at  the  alert  and  eager 
patriotism  of  his  Christian  sons.  Khama  was  placed  in  command  of  a 
regiment  and  had  with  him  a  few  men  on  horseback.  They  proceeded 
forth  to  try  to  encounter  the  enemy  on  the  plains.  The  story  of  their 
victory  is  told  elsewhere  in  this  book.  In  the  meantime  the  missionary 
and  his  family  had  been  urged  to  leave  the  little  house  and  flee,  like  all 
the  non-combatants  of  Shoshong,  to  the  mountains.  Here  they  lived 
.for  about  a  week  close  to  the  caves  of  wild  and  fierce  denizens,  driven 
forth  by  the  inrush  of  human  beings.  It  was  a  trying  experience  for  a 
mother  with  three  little  children  to  sleep  on  the  open  mountain  side  in 
the  cold  nights  in  a  hastily  constructed  little  hut  of  sticks  and  straw, 


332  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

» 

and  to  sit  unprotected  through  the  glare  of  the  noonday.  When  the 
Matebele  retired,  baffled  by  the  unexpected  vigor  of  the  Barnangwato 
soldiers,  the  refugees  came  back  from  the  mountains  to  their  homes  in 
the  valley. 

At  a  later  date  John  Mackenzie  made  a  journey  to  the  Matebele,  and 
spent  several  months  there  engaged  in  special  work.  He  observed  very 
closely  the  political  and  social  life  and  organization  of  the  tribe.  He 
himself  was  an  object  of  curiosity  and  suspicion  inasmuch  as  it  had  been 
rumored  that  he  had  actively  assisted  the  people  of  Shoshong  in  their 
battle.  Some  Matebele  soldiers  pointed  to  his  horses  and  remarked 
significantly  that  surely  these  were  among  the  horses  that  came  against 
them. 

John  Mackenzie,  like  all  South  African  missionaries,  was  compelled 
to  undertake  very  different  kinds  of  work.  He  not  only  had  his  preach- 
ing, and  his  teaching  in  the  elements  of  reading  and  writing  of  those 
who  showed  an  inclination  to  learn;  he  not  only  had  to  administer  sim- 
ple medicines  to  those  who  brought  their  diseases  to  him,  and  occasion- 
ally to  act  as  surgeon  or  even  as  dentist;  he  had  to  be  architect  and 
builder.  It  was  his  task  also  to  build  a  mission  house  and  a  church. 
In  order  to  do  this  he  had  to  employ  native  workmen,  and  this  could  be 
only  done  with  the  permission  of  the  chief.  These  workmen  had  to  be 
trained  in  brick  making,  in  sawing  timber  for  which  a  saw-pit  was  con- 
structed, and  then  also  in  preparing  the  lime  and  mortar,  and  laying 
the  bricks  and  floors.  For  the  roof  of  the  house  corrugated  iron  was 
brought  a  thousand  miles  from  the  Cape  to  the  wonder  and  astonish- 
ment of  the  natives.  Various,  were  the  adventures,  innumerable  the 
annoyances  and  trials,  deep  sometimes  the  disappointments  connected 
with  tasks  like  these.  But  the  men  who  had  given  themselves  for  life 
to  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  Christian  missionary,  could  only  carry  out  the 
purpose  of  their  consecration  by  triumphing  over  the  difficulties  and 
conquering  the  temptations  of  the  way. 

In  the  year  1869  John  Mackenzie  returned  home  and  during  his  fur- 
lough wrote  his  first  book  above  referred  to.  Shortly  after  his  return  to 
South  Africa  he  was  appointed  the  first  tutor  of  the  Moffat  Institution 
for  the  training  of  native  pastors  in  South  Africa,  for  which  public 
subscriptions  had  been  raised  in  England  in  honor  of  Robert  Moffat.  The 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  333 

latter  had  retired  to  spend  his  remaining  years  in  quiet  at  home.  At 
first  this  Institution  was  placed  at  Shoshong,  where  John  Mackenzie  had 
as  his  colleague  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Hepburn.  But  it  was  felt  throughout  the 
missionary  circles  of  Bechuanaland  that  the  true  place  for  the  Moffat 
Institution  was  at  the  famous  station  of  Kuruman,  where  Moffat  himself 
had  passed  the  longest  period  of  his  life.  Thither  accordingly  it  was 
moved  in  1876.  Once  more  John  Mackenzie  was  involved  in  all  the  dis- 
tractions and  difficulties  of  building.  Extensive  buildings  wrere  reared, 
affording  room  not  only  for  the  tutor  and  his  family,  as  well  as  class- 
rooms and  offices,  but  also  for  dwelling  houses  of  the  students  them- 
selves. These  were  never  very  numerous  inasmuch  as  the  educational 
side  of  the  missionary  work  in  Bechuanaland  had  been  most  sadly  and 
unfortunately  neglected  during  the  preceding  forty  or  fifty  years.  It  is 
one  of  the  strange  blunders  which  have  hindered  seriously  the  devel- 
opment of  South  Africa  that  no  strenuous  and  well  conceived  plan  of 
education  was  brought  into  operation  in  'Bechuanaland.  There  might 
have  been  years  ago  schools  and  seminaries  whose  existence  and  influ- 
ence could  have  put  Bechuana  tribes  on  a  far  higher  level  than  they 
occupy  to-day. 

Shortly  after  the  settlement  of  John  Mackenzie  at  Kuruman  the 
troubles  with  the  natives  began  which  we  describe  elsewhere.  When 
a  strong  body  of  natives  came,  fully  armed,  to  the  station  of  Kuruman, 
and  when  wandering  parties  of  natives  had  cut  off  connection  with 
Kimberley,  vague  and  alarming  rumors  spread  throughout  South  Africa 
regarding  the  fate  of  the  missionaries  and  traders  at  that  station.  The 
traders  had  implored  John  Mackenzie  at  the  very  beginning  of  the 
troubles  to  demand  assistance  from  the  British  Government,  but  to  this 
the  missionary  sternly  objected.  He  made,  as  in  duty  bound,  a  formal 
report  of  the  events,  but  he  had  expressed  no  desire  for  military  aid  on 
the  ground  that  as  a  missionary  he  had  once  for  all  undertaken  the 
responsibility  for  himself  and  his  family  of  living  beyond  the  confines  of 
civilization  and  British  administration,  and  he  had  no  right  to  make 
any  such  appeal  as  was  proposed.  But  he  told  the  traders  they  were  free 
to  act  as  they  liked,  and  he  agreed  that  all  the  Europeans  at  the  station 
should  take  refuge  in  the  recently  completed  Institution  buildings. 
These  were  strong  enough  to  have  held  out  against  a  considerable  force 


334  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

for  a  considerable  time.  One  day,  unarmed  and  alone,  John  Mackenzie 
walked  across  to  the  camp  of  the  disaffected  natives  and  interviewed 
the  chief.  Calmly  and  firmly  he  rebuked  him,  told  him  of  the  wrong 
he  was  doing  to  his  own  country,  described  to  him  the  ill-effects  that 
would  follow  any  attack  upon  the  Europeans,  and  succeeded  in  produc- 
ing a  great  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  threatening  force. 

When  succor  arrived  from  Kimberley  and  still  more  when  Col.  War- 
ren began  the  work  of  thoroughly  pacifying  the  region  by  punishing  the 
murderers  and  robbers,  the  missionary's  hands  were  full.  He  knew 
all  the  natives  for  many  miles  and  miles  around,  and  he  enjoyed  their 
perfect  confidence  and  the  deep  affection  of  most  of  them.  To  him  they 
came  with  their  pleas,  and  to  him  Col.  Warren  came  with  his  inquiries 
for  information.  When  the  military  forces  departed  the  missionary 
was  left  as  the  acting  administrator  and  representative  of  the  British 
Government,  and  this  work  he  did  without  pay,  after  all  his  ordinary 
labors  of  teaching  and  preaching  were  over,  daily  and  weekly  for  many 
months.  He  had  been  urged  by  Colonel  (afterwards  Sir  Owen)  Lanyon 
to  give  up  his  missionary  work  and  formally  undertake  the  position  of 
administrator.  This  proposition  was  afterwards  renewed  at  Kimberley, 
where  he  met  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa. 
The  latter  had  conceived  a  real  admiration  for  the  missionary  who  had 
the  qualities  of  a  statesman,  and  made  an  offer  which  on  its  worldly 
side  was  both  flattering  and  attractive;  but  the  missionary  had  long  ago 
as  a  young  man  decided  to  spend  his  life  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel 
to  the  heathen,  and  to  this  early  ambition  he  still  clung  at  this  crisis. 
He  laid  the  proposal  aside  and  retired  to  the  work  of  his  life  at  Kuru- 
man. 

In  the  year  1882  John  Mackenzie  returned  once  more  to  England, 
after  having  spent  a  second  period  of  eleven  years  in  continuous  work 
on  the  field.  As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  London  he  threw  himself  into 
the  task  of  rousing  the  sentiments  of  the  whole  of  England  in  regard  to 
her  responsibility  in  South  Africa.  On  his  journey  from  Kuruman  to 
Kimberley  he  had  met  parties  of  Boers  and  English  adventurers  who 
were  invading  Bechuanaland  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  native  farms, 
and  that  made  his  heart  burn  within  him.  When  he  found  that  the 
British  Government  had  finally  retired  from  the  responsibilities  of  ad- 


CHARGING    THE    BOERS'    LAAGER 

The  Lancers  at  work;    the  Boer  wagon  drivers  forcing  the  oxen  to  run;    the  Boers,  unable  to  reach 
their  horses,   take  refuge  in  the  wagons. 


. 


THE    MIDDLE    MUGAN    RIVER    IN    NATAL 


2    ^^ 

W     g*. 
en    B*« 


5 

2 

~ 


u 

- 

OB 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  337 

ministration  which  it  had  exercised  for  three  years,  the  fire  waxed 
fiercer.  The  love  of  his  heart  had  gone  out  to  these  native  tribes.  The 
best  years  of  his  life  had  been  spent  in  their  instruction  and  civilization. 
He  had  taught  them  the  principles  of  farming  and  of  commerce  as  well 
as  of  morality  and  religion;  he  had  urged  them  to  raise  crops  and  stock 
and  send  them  to  the  colonial  markets;  he  had  in  fact  labored  for  their 
advancement  in  every  direction.  And  the  reward  came.  He  began  to 
see  natives  growing  in  social  intelligence  and  in  material  wealth  by  car- 
rying out  the  precepts  and  directions  given  by  himself  and  a  few  other 
broad-minded  missionaries. 

But  now  he  saw  the  land  abandoned  by  Britain  and  seized  by  bandit 
adventurers.  He  knew  that  it  was  absolutely  of  no  use  merely  to  speak 
to  a  few  officials  in  London  and,  by  swaying  their  minds,  attempt  to 
change  the  national  policy.  He  had  indeed  gained  the  approval  and 
influence  of  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  for 
his  views;  and  through  him  he  was  able  to  reach  the  Colonial  Secretary, 
the  Earl  of  Derby.  But  that  was  not  enough.  The  Government  would 
take  no  more  forward  steps  in  South  Africa,  without  a  public  sentiment 
to  compel  and  to  support  them.  The  earnest  missionary-statesman  saw 
that  he  must  reach  and  move  the  English  people  as  a  whole.  To  his 
amazement  he  found  that  even  among  the  active-minded  people  who 
took  a  deep  interest  in  Imperial  affairs,  no  interest  but  only  a  great  deal 
of  prejudice  and  impatience,  was  felt  regarding  South  Africa.  This 
discovery  only  aroused  the  full  powers  of  the  man.  He  proceeded  to 
write  articles  for  the  reviews,  letters  to  the  newspapers  and  memoranda 
to"  the  Colonial  office.  He  also  sought  out  those  leaders  who  were 
likely  to  exercise  their  influence  for  the  good  of  South  Africa,  if  once 
they  intelligently  grasped  the  situation,  and  discussed  the  whole  sub- 
ject with  them.  Meetings  were  arranged  for  him  in  Scotland  as  well 
as  in  England.  In  London  the  South  African  Committee  was  formed 
which  comprised  among  its  members  noblemen,  members  of  Parliament, 
well  known  philanthropists  and  others.  As  a  result  of  all  these  well- 
directed  operations,  together  with  the  full  information,  the  broad  views 
and  the  powerful  arguments  with  which  in  private  and  in  public  he 
urged  his  case,  this  unknown  man,  single-handed,  profoundly  altered 


338  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

the  attitude  of  the  public  and  the  official  British  inind  towards  South 
Africa  during  the  eighteen  months  which  he  gave  to  this  great  task. 

Elsewhere  in  these  pages  the  story  is  told  of  the  visit  of  the  Trans- 
vaal delegates  to  London  in  1883-4.  They  reached  London  after  John 
Mackenzie  had  been  at  work  for  more  than  a  year.  When  it  became 
known  in  South  Africa  that  the  delegates  were  going  to  London,  Manko- 
roane,  one  of  the  leading  chiefs  in  South  Bechuanaland,  on  learning  that 
he  himself  could  not  be  received  in  London  to  represent  his  own  interest, 
requested  that  John  Mackenzie  might  be  admitted  as  his  representative. 
Lord  Derby  declined  to  allow  the  South  African  chief  to  appear  either 
personally  or  by  representative,  but  added  that  the  Government  would 
be  glad  to  receive  all  statements  made  on  his  behalf  by  John  Mackenzie. 
During  the  whole  period  of  the  conference  between  the  Transvaal  dele- 
gates and  the  British  Government  John  Mackenzie  was  kept  in  con- 
stant, almost  daily,  intercourse  with  the  Colonial  office.  This  inter- 
course took  place  chiefly  through  the  medium  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson, 
and  there  is  abundant  proof  that  the  information  which  he  gave,  the 
arguments  which  he  urged,  the  policy  which  he  proposed,  had  very  great 
influence  in  determining  the  conclusions  embodied  in  the  London  Con- 
vention of  1884. 

Most  especially  did  he  concentrate  attention  upon  the  one  great  pur- 
pose of  keeping  South  Bechuanaland  out  of  the  Transvaal.  He  saw  that 
if  he  failed  in  this,  not  only  would  the  native  tribes  to  whose  salvation 
he  had  given  his  life,  be  denuded  of  all  their  lands  and  all  their  rights, 
and  have  their  progress  fatally  arrested,  but  the  great  central  route 
into  the  interior  would  be  closed  to  Great  Britain.  When  the  results  of 
the  Convention  were  made  knowrn  John  Mackenzie  was  acknowledged 
by  journalists  and  others  who  knew  the  facts  in  London  as  the  man 
who  had  prevented  this  great  blunder;  but  the  clearest  and  most  em- 
phatic testimony  to  his  influence  in  this  matter  is  to  be  found  in  the 
language  employed  regarding  him  by  President  Kruger  when  he  re- 
turned to  his  Volksraad  and  which  we  quote  elsewhere. 

The  policy  which  John  Mackenzie  had  very  slowly  elaborated  in  his 
own  mind  and  had  long  urged  upon  the  Imperial  authorities  was  the 
result  of  his  study,  at  first  hand,  of  the  social  and  political  developments 
caused  everywhere  in  South  Africa  by  the  constant  movement  of  the 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  339 

white  races  northwards  and  of  the  black  races  southwards.  This  study 
he  began  in  1858  during  his  first  northward  journey.  He  had  also 
studied  closely  the  history  of  the  relations  of  civilized  governments  to 
native  races  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  chiefly  in  the  United  States  of 
North  America  and  in  the  Empire  of  India.  The  result  of  his  studies 
was  the  conviction  which  remained  clear  and  strong  in  his  mind  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  that  the  best  development  of  South  Africa  would  take 
place  when  all  the  vast  native  territories  of  that  region  were  taken 
under  the  direct  control  of  Imperial  officers.  He  urged  that  the  colonies 
had  mighty  tasks  of  their  own  in  which  they  were  acquitting  them- 
seKes  sometimes  magnificently,  generally  with  credit,  but  that  colonial 
officers  were  as  a  rule  unfitted  for  the  most  difficult  and  momentous 
labor  of  ruling  directly  great  native  populations.  He  knew  that  if 

• 

British  Residents  were  placed  among  native  tribes  which  retained  their 
independence,  and  British  administrators  were  placed  over  tribes  where 
the  chiefs  had  lost  control  and  native  government  had  become  im- 
possible, the  expense  of  such  officers  could  all  be  paid  easily  by  local 
taxation,  which  would  be  no  burden  to  the  tribes  themselves.  He  knew 
that  Imperial  officers  were  almost  invariably  just  and  generous  in  their 
treatment  of  the  native  tribes,  wise  and  patient  in  seeking  their  educa- 
tion and  social  elevation,  wars  wrould  be  prevented,  oppressions  would 
have  an  end,  European  colonists  could  obtain  vast  unoccupied  terri- 
tories and  develop  them,  true  prosperity  would  spring  up,  and,  at  last, 
self-governing  communities  would  arise  under  the  direction  of  these 
Imperial  officers  without  stealing  any  tribal  lands  or  inflicting  injustice 
upon  any  native  people.  The  scheme  as  he  detailed  it  and  as  he  urged 
it  through  the  press  and  from  the  platform  gained  the  adherence  of  some 
of  the  most  experienced  Governors  of  South  Africa  and  large  numbers 
of  the  best  friends  of  that  land. 

When  the  London  Convention  was  drawn  up  it  was  announced  that 
the  Earl  of  Derby  had,  on  a  strong  recommendation  of  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson,  the  Governor  of  Cape,  appointed  John  Mackenzie  as  Deputy 
Commissioner  for  Bechuanaland.  In  this  office  he  was  to  represent 
and  be  in  correspondence  with  the  High  Commissioner.  He  was  to 
proceed  to  Bechuanaland,  there  proclaim  the  country  as  under  the 
protection  of  the  Queen,  and  proceed  to  educe  order  out  of  chaos  in 


340  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

which  the  region  had  become  involved.  It  was  estimated  that  he 
would  require  200  mounted  police  to  enable  him  firmly  to  deal  with 
individual  offenders  and  clearly  to  manifest  the  determination  and 
strength  of  the  Imperial  purpose.  In  the  discussion  and  settlement 
of  all  these  measures  John  Mackenzie  was  constantly  dependent  upon 
the  man  who  was  to  be  his  chief  and  with  whose  help  he  was  to  carry 
through  his  task.  The  missionary  was  too  devoted  to  his  work  to  step 
aside  from  it  and  to  undertake  unwonted  responsibilities  without  very 
great  reluctance.  This  reluctance  was  overcome  by  the  arguments  and 
promises  which  he  received  from  the  Colonial  office,  and  especially 
from  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa.  Judging  from  all  that 
he  saw  and  heard  in  London,  he  concluded  that  this  was  a  most 
favorable  opportunity  for  putting  his  long  pondered  scheme  intp  actual 
operation.  It  would  enable  him  to  work  amongst  the  people  whom 
he  loved  and  who  loved  him;  he  would  go  forth  without  hostility  to 
any  race,  to  deal  honorably  and  justly  with  Boer  and  English,  black 
and  white,  firmly  but  impartially.  Great  satisfaction  was  expressed 
when  his  appointment  was  made  known,  and  John  Mackenzie  sailed  for 
Cape  Town,  not  without  earnest  brooding  over  the  future  but  with 
great  confidence  that  his  work  was  right  in  the  sight  of  God  and  likely 
to  prove  of  benefit  to  men. 

When  he  landed  at  Cape  Town  the  Deputy  Commissioner  found  that 
his  appointment  was  severely  criticized  by  two  classes  of  people.  The 
first  consisted  of  the  Transvaal  Boers,  and  the  second  of  their  sympa- 
thizers and  pliant  supporters  among  the  politicians  at  Cape  Town. 
Nevertheless  he  had  behind  him,  as  he  imagined,  the  force  of  a  sup- 
porting Government  in  London  and  a  sympathetic  High  Commissioner 
at  Cape  Town. 

When  he  reached  the  field  of  his  operations  he  began  first  by  dealing 
with  the  so-called  Republic  of  Stellaland.  At  Vryburg  there  had 
gathered  a  considerable  number  of  white  people,  a  large  majority  being- 
Boers  from  the  Transvaal,  who  had  organized  a  Government,  selected 
their  officers,  adopted  and  raised  their  flag.  When  Mr.  Mackenzie  ap- 
peared among  them  he  had  no  alternative  but  to  announce  his  mission. 
His  mission  was  to  proclaim  that  the  territory  was  now  by  the  London 
Convention  outside  the  Transvaal,  and  by  the  act  of  proclamation  wThich 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  341 

he  now  made  was  brought  within  the  Queen's  dominions.  He  explained 
that  there  could  not  be  two  governments  in  one  country,  and  there- 
fore to  the  breathless  astonishment  of  certain  big  Boer  leaders  he 
announced  that  the  Stellaland  Government  was  no  longer  in  existence. 
He  attempted  to  make  things  easier  for  the  future  by  appointing  certain 
of  the  Stellalanders  to  office  under  himself.  He  named  a  Mr.  Van 
Niekerk,  one  of  the  most  adventurous  and  able  leaders,  as  the  local 
commissioner.  He  promised  that  at  a  future  date  all  claims  which 
any  of  them  were  ready  to  make  regarding  land,  and  all  alleged  debts 
which  they  as  a  Government  had  incurred  in  a  reasonable  way  would 
be  investigated.  So  successful  was  he  that  the  Stellalanders  accepted 
the  situation,  most  of  them  speedily  gained  confidence  in  his  fairness 
and  integrity,  and  welcomed  the  advent  of  the  Imperial  authority  and 
even  persuaded  him  to  allow  the  absurd  Stellaland  flag  to  be  pulled 
down  and  the  British  flag  to  take  its  place. 

During  these  proceedings  the  Deputy  Commissioner  was  in  daily 
correspondence  with  his  chief  at  Cape  Town  by  telegram.  He  speedily 
became  aware  that  the  mind  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  not  as  it 
had  been.  The  result  of  this  was  felt  immediately  in  the  criticism  by 
telegram  which  followed  his  movements  and  the  persistent  refusal  to 
act  upon  suggestions  which  he  made,  especially  in  the  matter  of  raising 
and  organizing  the  police  force  which  he  had  been  promised.  It  was 
a  strange  predicament  for  an  honorable  man  who  was  conscious  of 
rectitude  and  power  to  do  his  work,  who  had  given  up  his  life  career 
at  great  cost  to  his  feelings  for  the  sake  of  this  duty.  At  one  stage  in 
these  events  he  proposed  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  return  to  Cape 
Town  in  order  to  confer  with  the  High  Commissioner,  but  this  request 
which  was  a  reasonable  one  in  the  circumstances  was  refused  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  much  needed  in  his  sphere  of  duty. 

When  he  reached  the  northern  part  of  his  territory  and  came  into 
the  lands  owned  by  the  tribe  of  which  Montsioa  was  chief  he  found  a 
more  forbidding  and  dangerous  condition  of  affairs  even  than  in  Stella- 
land.  The  Boer  filibusters,  as  they  were  called,  were  here  of  a  more 
reckless  order  and  were  prepared  to  go  further  than  the  Stellalanders 
in  their  open  ill-treatment  of  tne  natives  and  their  resistance  of  British 
authority.  They  had  formed  or  were  forming  another  republic  in  what 


342  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

they  called  the  land  of  Goshen.  They  had  settled  around  one  of  the 
finest  fountains  in  that  region,  which  was  on  the  Transvaal  side  of  the 
border  but  supplied  with  its  waters  the  territory  reserved  for  Mont- 
sioa's  tribe  on  the  west.  This  position  gave  them  practical  advantages 
which  they  used  to  the  full  extent.  They  were  able  to  take,  and  they 
had  taken,  the  cattle  of  the  Bechuanas,  and  driven  them  across  the 
border,  knowing  that  the  Bechuanas  would  respect  the  boundary  line 
which  they  were  told  the  Queen  had  laid  down.  The  natives  steadily 
avoided  any  act  which  might  be  called  an  invasion  of  the  Transvaal, 
even  in  the  pursuit  of  their  own  property.  On  the  other  hand,  when 
the  Boers  found  that  protests  had  reached  Pretoria  and  when  a  Trans- 
vaal official  appeared,  or  was  about  to  appear,  to  investigate  the  alleged 
disturbances  and  find  out  the  guilty  parties,  the  latter  received  plenty  of 
warning,  and  simply  crossed  the  border  into  Bechuanalaud.  When  the 
official  returned  to  Pretoria  he  was  able  to  announce,  and  his  announce- 
ment was  wired  to  Cape  Town  and  thence  was  cabled  to  London,  that 
the  Boer  marauders  had  left  the  Transvaal  before  he  reached  the  spot, 
and  were  "out  of  the  country."  It  is  true  that  many,  perhaps  most 
of  the  respectable  Dutch  farmers  in  the  southwest  of  the  Transvaal, 
heartily  disapproved  of  these  proceedings,  and  if  one  were  to  judge 
of  the  acts  of  the  Transvaal  by  the  opinions  and  character  of  these 
staid  and  thoughtful  citizens,  that  Government  would  have  to  be  ac- 
quitted of  all  complicity  in  these  events.  But  when  one  finds  that  that 
Government  had  for  many  years  past  allowed  exactly  the  same  pro- 
ceedings to  take  place  on  all  its  borders;  when  one  finds  that  among 
these  freebooters  were  relatives  and  friends  of  well-known  politicians 
at  Pretoria;  when  one  finds  that  the  leaders  of  the  Afrikander  Bond, 
even  at  Cape  Town,  hindered  every  action  intended  to  end  this  free- 
booting,  and  supported  every  policy  that  would  nourish  it,  one  is  bound 
in  the  name  of  common  sense  and  fidelity  to  indisputable  facts  to  hold 
the  Government  at  Pretoria  responsible  for  the  continuance  of  these 
proceedings  on  the  part  of  her  own  citizens. 

At  this  place  (the  district  of  Rooi  Gond  or  "Goshen")  Mr.  Mackenzie 
met  with  the  chief  and  with  him  entered  into  a  formal  treaty,  the  chief 
most  earnestly  and  gladly  welcoming  the  advent  of  the  Queen's  pro- 
tection and  help  in  the  government  of  his  country.  After  a  few  days 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  343 

it  became  evident  that  a  section,  even  of  the  white  settlers  in  Gosheii, 
were  sick  of  the  brutal  and  lawless  ways  of  their  leaders.  Some  of 
them  came  to  the  Deputy  Commissioner  and  spontaneously  expressed 
their  sympathy  with  his  objects,  and  their  desire  for  an  orderly  and 
firm  government.  Here,  too,  Mr.  Mackenzie  left  behind  him  a  represen- 
tative in  the  person  of  a  Mr.  Wright,  whom  he  knew  well  and  whose 
fitness  for  the  work  had  already  been  proved.  Then  the  Deputy  Com- 
missioner continued  his  journey  through  Bechuanaland,  meeting  with 
one  chief  after  another,  and  concluding  treaties  with  them  all.  They 
received  him  and  his  Imperial  message  with  unfailing  and  unassumed 
gladness. 

During  the  period  of  this  journey  he  was  under  the  impression  that 
^teps  had  been  taken  by  Major  Low  to  organize  his  police  force.  His 
amazement  and  disappointment  may  be  imagined  when  he  found  that 
at  Cape  Town  it  had  been  resolved  that  he  should  not  have  any  police, 
at  one  time  because  he  did  not  need  them,  at  another  time  because  200 
would  not  be  enough  and  there  was  no  money  to  equip  more.  During 
this  time  some  very  curious  work  was  done  by  means  of  cables  to 
England,  which  announced  from  time  to  time  that  the  Deputy  Com- 
missioner was  in  difficulties,  was  hated  and  opposed  by  the  white  men, 
was  threatened,  and,  at  last,  it  was  announced  that  he  had  been  mur- 
dered. As  there  was  never  any  shadow  for  these  rumors  in  the  events 
which  actually  occurred  in  Bechuanaland,  and  they  were  all  sent  from 
one  source  at  Cape  Town,  inference  has  been  very  naturally  drawn  that 
in  this  as  in  other  cases  in  connection  with  political  events  in  South 
Africa,  someone  at  Cape  Town  had  the  power  and  the  evil  spirit  to 
attempt  to  produce  political  results  in  England  by  means  of  a  series  of 
well-concocted  statements  which  were  never  corroborated,  had  no  con- 
ceivable foundation,  and  wrere  almost  never  contradicted  or  corrected. 

When  permission  was  given  him  to  raise  police  the  conditions  had 
become  complicated  in  Bechuanaland,  and  the  permission  itself  was 
made  of  no  effect  by  the  proposals  with  which  it  was  accompanied.  At 
last,  when  the  time  seemed  right  to  those  who  were  manipulating  the 
wires  at  Cape  Town,  the  request  was  made  to  John  Mackenzie  that  he 
should  visit  Cape  Town  for  the  purpose  of  conference  with  the  High 
Commissioner.  When  he  arrived  there  he  found  that  those  who  had 


344  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

influence  with  bis  chief,  and  the  chief  himself  seemed  to  be  convinced 
that  an  entirely  new  policy  must  be  adopted,  the  distinctive  feature  of 
which  was  "the  elimination  of  the  Imperial  factor"  and  the  annexation 
of  Bechuanaland  to  Cape  Colony. 

The  next  steps. that  were  taken  in  the  effort  to  set  that  land  in 
order  were  carried  out  by  those  who  were  in  sympathy  with  the  so- 
called  Colonial  policy.  The  reason  given  by  the  Cape  politicians  for 
this  step  was  that  they  did  not  believe  the  Imperial  Government  to 
•be  sincere  in  professing  to  undertake  the  direction  of  affairs  in 
Bechuanaland.  Those  who  have  studied  the  number  of  retreats  made 
by  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  during  this  century  cannot  be  amazed 
at  the  feeling  of  suspicion  and  almost  smiling  contempt  felt  by  South 
Africa  for  any  new  profession  of  Britain's  determination  to  make  an 
advance  in  that  part  of  the  world.  They  could  not  imagine  and  did 
not  believe  that  the  British  conscience  had  been  touched  and  British 
interest  in  Bechuanaland  aroused  to  any  high  and  fixed  resolve.  They 
accordingly  decided  that  the  only  alternative  was,  since  a  protectorate 
had  been  proclaimed  in  Bechuanaland,  to  bring  that  region  under  the 
tender  mercies  of  South  African  politicians  themselves. 

It  is  only  just  to  other  men  and  due  to  the  truth  to  state  that 
there  was  one  strong  personality  at  Cape  Town  who  for  fifteen  years 
exercised  what  must  be  on  the  whole  described  as  a  malign  influence 
on  the  relations  of  the  Imperial  Government  to  South  Africa,  that 
was  a  military  gentleman  who  occupied  the  position  of  Imperial  Secre- 
tary to  the  High  Commissioner.  His  influence  over  the  High  Com- 
missioner appears  to  have  been  far  more  than  is  expected  on  the  part  of 
a  secretary  over  a  great  Imperial  officer.  He  did  much  to  swing  round 
the  mind  of  Sir  Hercules  Eobinson;  he  it  was,  who,  on  the  strength  of 
a  few  days'  hurried  visit  to  Bechuanaland,  contradicted  at  Cape  Town, 
in  the  ears  of  their  common  Chief,  reports  as  to  actual  occurrences  made 
by  the  Deputy  Commissioner  in  Bechuanaland;  to  him  must  be  traced 
the  animus  which  appears  in  the  telegrams  addressed  to  John  Mac- 
kenzie by  the  High  Commissioner;  to  him  is  undoubtedly  due  some  of 
the  most  absurd  proposals  and  fatal  mistakes  ever  made  during  the 
events  of  those  two  years  (1884-5) ;  to  his  steady  misrepresentations  and 
his  determined  hostility  to  the  Imperial  factor  (and  he  was  known  as 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  345 

the  Imperial  Secretary !)  it  is  partly  due  that  once  more  at  this  time  the 
position  of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  was  made  to  tremble  in  the 
balance.  When  he,  with  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Ehodes,  had  succeeded  in 
cornering  John  Mackenzie  by  persuading  the  High  Commissioner  at 
last  to  recall  him  to  Cape  Town,  the  steps  which  they  took  in  relation 
to  the  freebooters  strengthened  the  grip  of  the  latter  upon  Bechuana- 
land,  dismayed  the  many  loyalists,  crushed  the  hearts  of  the  native 
chiefs  and  made  it  seem  inevitable  to  many  of  the  most  thoughtful  and 
faithful  South  Africans  that  the  final  retreat  was  being  made  and  the 
door  into  the  interior  was  being  fast  closed,  and  closed  forever,  by  the 
weakness  and  blundering  of  those  who  were  supposed  to  represent 
Imperial  power  in  that  region. 

It  may  be  said  here  that  down  to  the  time  of  the  Jameson  Eaid 
the  influence  of  the  Imperial  Secretary  seems  ever  to  have  been  directed 
towards  schemes  which  showed  the  strange  combination  of  vigor  and 
incapacity,  of  determination  to  act  in  ways  which  deepened  rather  than 
relieved  existing  complications. 

It  may  be  also  remarked  that  probably  at  no  time  in  the  history 
of  South  Africa  was  Jojin  Mackenzie's  doctrine  regarding  the  High 
Commissionership  more  fully  justified  than  at  this  period.  The  High 
Commissionership,  during  the  years  1884-5,  touched  the  lowest  point 
which  that  office  has  reached  in  its  many  peculiar  moments  of  dipping 
in  South  African  history.  John  Mackenzie  urged  with  all  the  more 
passion  in  after  years  that  Great  Britain  would  never  exercise  her 
full  moral  influence  over  Austral- Africa  as  a  whole,  would  never  suc- 
ceed in  awing  the  passionate  ambitions  of  the  Transvaal  Boers,  would 
never  secure  a  prolonged,  steady,  constant  policy  in  relation  to  the 
great  native  territories  and  the  development  of  colonization  in  the 
vast  unoccupied  territories  of  the  North  until  the  High  Commissioner- 
ship  of  Austral  Africa  should  be  severed  from  the  Governorship  of  Cape 
Colony.  The  man  who  is  responsible  for  all  South  Africa  ought  not  to 
be  the  same  man  who  is  holding  delicate  relations  with  the  ministry  of 
one  Colony  at  Cape  Town.  That  ministry  can  reach  him  as  High  Com- 
missioner, and  has  reached  him  in  many  unworthy  ways,  and  to  the 
serious  detriment  of  many  other  portions  of  South  Africa. 

Alike  when  John  Mackenzie  attempted  to  act  in  the  name  of  the 


346  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

Imperial  Government,  and  when  Sir  Charles  Warren,  in  the  following 
year,  did  so  with  a  military  force  at  his  back,  the  most  perplexing 
opposition  which  these*  representatives  of  the  supreme  Government  met 
in  South  Africa  wTas  offered  to  them,  not  by  the  Transvaal  directly  but 
by  President  Kruger,  acting  through  the  Afrikander  Bond,  which  in  turn 
acted  upon  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa.  The  High  Com- 
missioner offered  this  opposition  because  compelled  thereto  by  the  men 
who  surrounded  and  influenced  him  as  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony. 

When  John  Mackenzie  returned  to  Cape  Town  he  found  not  only 
that  he  had  been  deliberately  checkmated  in  attempting  to  carry  out 
the  instructions  which  he  received  from  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  Sir 
Hercules  Kobinson  in  London,  but  that,  to  use  his  own  words,  he  had 
been  "tripped  up."  In  London  he  had  friends  like  the  late  Mr.  W.  E. 
Forster,  who  had  been  watching  the  telegrams  and  who  suspected  that 
underhand  dealings  of  the  kind  hinted  at  above  were  being  employed 
by  the  enemies  of  direct  Imperialism  in  South  Africa.  These  friends 
demanded  to  know  the  facts  of  the  case,  but  their  demand  was  ignored. 
When  John  Mackenzie  returned  to  Cape  Town  it  was  to  state  the  facts, 
not  as  the  false  telegrams  which  were  being  showered  from  the  interior 
represented,  but  as  they  actually  were,  and  to  urge  that  the  most 
dangerous  policy,  the  one  which  would  lead  to  serious  difficulties,  if 
not  even  to  war,  was  the  abandonment  of  the  Imperial  plan.  He  was 
willing  to  return  at  once  to  his  responsibility  on  condition  that  he 
should  be  backed  up  in  carrying  out  the  commission  put  into  his  hands 
by  the  Earl  of  Derby  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  a  few  months  before. 
He  found  that  the  mind  of  the  man  who  had  induced  him  to  change  the 
whole  course  of  his  life  and  to  accept  the  post  was  now  against  the 
scheme  on  which  they  had  united.  He  had  been  both  "tripped  up"  and 
deserted  by  those  pledged  either  by  word  or  office  or  both  to  support 
him.  There  remained  nothing  for  him  to  do  but  to  hand  in  his  resigna- 
tion. He  was  urged  not  to  do  so  by  some  in  Cape  Town,  who  held  that 
a  firm  stand  must  be  made  against  the  trickery  and  disloyalty  which 
ruled  the  hour.  Nevertheless  he  was  too  honorable  to  seem  as  if  he 
clung  for  his  own  sake  to  a  position  of  such  importance.  He  was  will- 
ing to  allow  Captain  Bower,  the  Imperial  Secretary,and  Mr.  Rhodes, who 
would  succeed  him,  and  Mr.  Uppington,  Prime  Minister  of  the  Colony, 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  347 

to  try  their  bands  at  the  task  of  reducing  Bechuaualand  to  order.  In 
his  letter  of  resignation  he  emphasized  the  fact  that  aH  the  native 
tribes  trusted  him,  that  the  heads  of  the  little  Government  at  Stella- 
land  urged  and  desired  his  return,  that  he  had  ignored  all  race  dis- 
tinctions among  Europeans,  and  his  impartiality  was  well  known 
amongst  those  with  whom  he  had  dealt  in  Bechuanaland.  But  at  the 
same  time  he  felt  that  he  ought  no  longer  to  stand  in  the  way  of  those 
who,  whether  justly  or  unjustly,  whether  sincerely  or  for  political 
reasons  insincerely,  professed  to  see  a  way  out  of  the  muddle  in  South 
Africa  other  than  that  which  he  had  pursued.  The  High  Commissioner 
immediately  telegraphed  to  London,  recommending  that  the  resignation 
be  accepted,  and  even  proposed  with  cruel  kindness  that  the  expenses 
of  his  journey  to  his  mission  station  should  be  allowed  to  John  Mac- 
kenzie! It  is  a  strange  fact  and  one  significant  of  the  troubled  and 
doubtful  state  of  mind  in  which  the  authorities  of  the  Colonial  office 
found  themselves  in  London  that  this  resignation  was  not  formally 
accepted  by  the  Earl  of  Derby  until  several  months  later. 

John  Mackenzie  had  too  high  a  sense  of  the  task  which,  as  he 
believed,  God  had  laid  upon  him  to  do  for  South  Africa,  to  leave  Cape 
Town  and  desert  his  responsibility.  He  remained  at  Cape  Town,  closely 
watching  the  succession  of  events.  He  saw  the  Transvaal  Government 
attempt,  in  utter  defiance  of  the  London  Convention,  which  was  only  a 
few  months  old,  to  annex  Montsioa's  country.  He  watched  the  insane 
attempt  of  the  Colonial  Ministers  to  go  down  to  Bechuanaland  and 
solve  the  problem  on  what  they  were  pleased  to  call  Colonial  lines. 
He  saw  the  announcement  of  the  action  which  Mr.  Van  Niekerk  dared 
to  take  reversing  the  proclamation  of  annexation  which  an  Imperial 
officer  had  made.  He  saw  his  own  successor,  Mr.  Rhodes,  approving 
that  action  of  Mr.  Van  Niekerk  and  Captain  Bower  giving  back  the 
cruelly  symbolic  flag  of  Stellaland  to  the  same  Transvaal  citizen  who 
called  himself  "Administrator  of  the  Republic  of  Stellaland."  He  saw  at 
the  same  time  that  in  Cape  Town  and  in  the  Colony  there  were  literally 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  loyal  citizens  of  both  English  and  Dutch 
descent  who  were  humiliated  and  even  disgusted  at  the  extraordinary 
folly  which  was  being  perpetrated  in  the  name  of  Imperialism  before 
their  eyes. 


348  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

Those  who  felt  themselves  in  sympathy  with  John  Mackenzie's  point 
of  view  gradually  came  together  and  organized  at  last  a  public  meet- 
ing, which  was  held  in  the  Exchange  at  Cape  Town,  on  the  evening 
of  September  24, 1884.  Heavy  rain  was  falling;  the  meeting  was  called 
avowedly  in  the  name  of  real  Imperialism,  and  not  the  sham  and  dan- 
gerous Imperialism  of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  working  through  Messrs. 
Uppington  and  Rhodes;  and  yet  that  great  hall  was  crowded  to  the 
door,  men  occupied  the  open  windows  and  gathered  with  eager  faces  on 
the  outside,  straining  to  catch  the  words  that  were  spoken  within.  The 
Mayor  of  Cape  Town  was  in  the  chair.  It  is  significant  that  in  the 
opening  of  his  speech  he  referred  to  the  crisis  in  Bechuanaland  as  a 
test  of  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  loyalty  to  the  flag  of  the  British  Empire. 
One  of  the  most  eloquent  speeches  was  delivered  by  the  Hon.  J.  W. 
Leonard,  Q.  C.  He  lifted  the  subject  to  a  high  level,  raised  it  above 
all  personality,  described  the  actual  events  occurring  at  Rooigrond  and 
Stellaland.  He  said:  "This  is  the  way,  gentlemen,  in  which  the  Lon- 
don Convention  has  been  maintained.  I  can  produce  incontestable 
proof  that  they  (the  marauders  and  invaders)  were  supported  by  Mr. 
Joubert,  General  Joubert,  of  the  Transvaal."  John  Mackenzie  himself 
made  the  leading  speech.  The  newspapers  announced  that  when  he 
arose  the  audience  stood  up  in  a  body  and  gave  him  a  reception  which 
utterly  surprised  himself,  as  well  as  the  leading  organizers  of  the 
meeting. 

The  enthusiasm  created  by  this  great  meeting  was  speedily  spread 
throughout  the  Colony.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  John  Mackenzie  to  travel 
to  all  the  main  centers  and  to  deliver  lectures  on  the  subject  of  the  hour. 
In  this  way  he  visited  Stellenbosch,  Port  Elizabeth,  Grahamstown  and 
various  places  in  the  eastern  province.  The  outburst  of  loyalty  through- 
out the  Colony  was  so  remarkable,  and  the  resolutions  passed  so 
strong  and  so  unanimous,  that  they  produced  great  influence  at  last 
upon  the  Home  Government.  In  the  meantime  things  had  been  going 
from  bad  to  worse  in  Bechuanaland.  The  successors  of  John  Mackenzie 
had  matters  worse  even  than  he  had  found  them.  At  last,  when  the  Earl 
of  Derby  received  from  President  Kruger  the  coo"l  request  for  permis- 
sion to  annex  the  most  valuable  part  of  Bechuanaland,  even  his  im- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  349 

patience  was  aroused.  The  result  was  the  sending  out  of  the  Warren 
Expedition  to  South  Africa. 

When  Sir  Charles  Warren  landed  at  Cape  Town  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  people  knew  no  bounds.  But  as  soon  as  he  landed  he  found 
himself  confronted  with  the  forces  which  had  baffled  John  Mackenzie. 
From  the  beginning  he  found  the  High  Commissioner  out  of  sympathy 
with  him,  and  eager  to  throw  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  his  under- 
taking. Sir  Charles  Warren  resolved  that  he  must  have  on  his  staff 
as  the  chief  source  of  information  regarding  Bechuanaland  the  pres- 
ence of  John  Mackenzie.  He  was  warned  against  this  by  the  High 
Commissioner,  on  the  ground  that  Mackenzie  was  "not  a  persona  grata 
to  the  Transvaal  Government."  Sir  Charles,  of  course,  acted  on  his 
own  judgment,  and  found  as  his  expedition  proceeded  that  the  presence 
of  this  missionary  did  not  add  any  complication  to  dealings  with  the 
Boer  Government.  On  the  contrary,  when  he  met  President  Kruger 
himself  at  Fourteen  Streams,  John  Mackenzie  was  present,  and  was 
treated  with  both  respect  and  kindness  by  the  President  and  his  com- 
panions. The  malignity  of  those  whom  he  had  at  last  defeated  pursued 
John  Mackenzie  from  step  to  step.  It  even  went  this  length, — when 
Sir  Charles  Warren  wired  to  Cape  Town  a  warning  that  in  certain  parts 
of  the  Colony  near  its  northern  border  secret  meetings  were  being  held, 
only  a  few  miles  from  his  lines  of  communications,  by  people  who  were 
avowedly  disloyal,  and  that  he  considered  the  Colonial  authorities  uijder 
obligation  to  receive  and  act  upon  this  information,  they  replied  by 
asking  whether  "it  was  true  that  the  Rev.  John  Mackenzie,  the  late 
Deputy  Commissioner  to  Bechuanaland,  was  then  in  the  camp  of  Sir 
Charles  Warren,  and  personally  advising  him."  This  inquiry  was 
repeated  several  times.  It  was  one  of  the  few  blows  which  John 
Mackenzie  confessed  that  he  felt  bitterly.  The  suggestion  that  he  was 
biasing  the  mind  of  Sir  Charles  Warren  against  any  class  of  the  col- 
onists, that  he  was  attempting  deliberately  to  sow  the  seed  of  discord 
and  excite  suspicion,  was  absolutely  gratuitous  and  revealed  the  depths 
to  which  his  accusers  had  allowed  themselves  to  be  dragged  by  hostility 
to  his  policy  and  dislike  of  his  spirit. 

Throughout  the  Wrarren  expedition  John  Mackenzie  lived  very  close 
to  the  General,  advising  him  regarding  the  native  tribes,  acting  as 


;).->o  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

interpreter  and  intermediary  between  the  chiefs  whom  they  visited  and 
this  brilliant  representative  of  Great  Britain.  From  the  south  of  the 
country  right  up  to  Shoshong,  where  they  met  with  the  chief  Khama, 
the  expedition  moved  as  a  continual  triumph.  When  the  expedition 
was  over  and  Sir  Charles  Warren  made  his  formal  report  to  the  Home 
-Government  regarding  the  conduct  of  the  expedition  and  those  who  had 
rendered  Imperial  service,  he  placed  the  name  of  this  missionary  first 
on  the  list.  It  was  with  a  smile  of  amusement  that  the  missionary 
noticed  in  the  papers  the  decorations  and  rewards  bestowed  upon  all 
the  other  officers  of  the  expedition  whom  the  General  had  praised,  while 
to  him  was  left  only  the  satisfaction  of  having  been  thanked  by  Sir 
Charles  Warren,  and  of  having  rendered,  at  great  personal  cost,  the 
most  arduous  service  of  which  he  was  capable,  for  the  good  of  the  land 
to  which  he  had  given  his  life  and  his  love. 

On  his  return  to  London,  John  Mackenzie,  in  1886,  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  writing  the  history  of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  during  the 
preceding  ten  years,  and  this  was  published  in  the  year  1887,  in  two 
large  volumes,  under  the  title,  "Austral  Africa,  Losing  It  or  Ruling 
It."  Thereafter  he  remained  in  London  for  several  years,  strenuously 
working  for  South  Africa.  No  man  could  have  loved  any  land  or  given 
himself  more  devotedly  and  unselfishly  to  her  best  interests  than  John 
Mackenzie  during  these  years  of  work  for  South  Africa.  The  South 
African  Committee  was  revivified  once  more;  the  pen  was  in  his  hand, 
and  his  voice  was  heard  from  various  platforms;  once  more  he  at- 
tempted to  expound  the  true  meaning  of  an  Imperial  policy  in  South 
Africa;  once  more  he  urged  that  the  High  Commissionership  must  be 
untrammeled  by  personal  and  delicate  relations  with  any  one  Colony, 
but  must  remain  free  as  the  acknowledged  overseer  of  all  the  colonies 
and  territories,  the  visible,  indubitable  representative  of  Imperialism 
in  South  Africa.  Once  more  he  plead  for  native  tribes,  worked  to  save 
this  one  from  the  grasp  of  the  Transvaal,  and  that  one  from  the  grasp 
of  a  Chartered  Company,  and  that  other  from  the  grasp  of  a  yet  youthful 
colony.  He  worked  every  hour  of  every  day  through  these  years,  at 
great  cost  to  his  health,  for  South  Africa. 

In  1889  an  entirely  new  direction  was  given  to  the  history  of 
South  African  development  by  the  formation  of  the  Chartered  Com- 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  351 

pany.  Some  wealthy  noblemen  and  South  African  capitalists  obtained 
from  Parliament  a  charter,  granting  to  them  the  right  to  develop  the 
rich  unoccupied  territories  of  Mashonaland  and  Matabeleland,  between 
the  borders  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  Zambesi  River,  between  Portu- 
guese East  Africa  and  Khama's  country.  John  Mackenzie  saw  at  once 
two  things;  first,  that  this  would  realize  one  of  the  plans  which  he 
had  for  years  urged,  viz.,  that  those  territories  should  be  saved  from 
the  Boer  Government,  settled  with  English  and  Scottish  colonists,  and 
their  rich  resources  peacefully  developed.  Secondly,  he  saw  that 
a  Chartered  Company  was  an  unsuitable  and  antiquated  instrument  to 
use  for  this  end.  His  view  was  unchanged  and  had  been  indeed  con- 
firmed from  year  to  year  by  events  in  South  Africa,  that  the  best 
possible  mode  of  government  which  could  be  adopted  for  those  new 
regions  was  that  of  direct  Imperial  control,  as  in  India.  This  de- 
velopment of  Mr.  Rhodes'  policy  placed  him  in  a  delicate  position.  He 
must  not  even  appear  to  oppose  the  occupation  and  development  of 
Mashonaland,  and  yet  his  conscience  would  not  let  him  accept  the 
method  of  the  Chartered  Company.  The  forces  against  his  view  and 
those  who  sympathized  with  him  were  too  powerful,  however,  to  be  over- 
borne. The  charter  wras  granted,  the  company  entered  upon  its  mag- 
nificent, responsible  and  dangerous  task.  During  this  period  he  was 
much  interested  also  in  discussions  regarding  Swaziland,  Basutoland, 
Tongaland,  as  well  as  both  North  and  South  Bechuanaland. 

At  last  he  felt  that  this  portion  of  his  life  work  had  come  to  an 
end.  In  1890  he  went  to  the  London  Missionary  Society  and  announced 
that  now  he  was  ready  once  more  to  undertake  the  work  they  had  pro- 
posed to  him.  The.  appointment  which  he  received  took  him  to  an 
entirely  new  region,  away  from  his  beloved  Bechuanas,  away  from  the 
regions  he  had  traversed  so  often,  away  from  the  problems  upon  which 
he  had  spent  his  life,  to  learn  a  new  language,  to  live  in  a  region  new 
to  him,  and  deal  with  people  at  a  stage  of  civilization  with  which  he 
had  not  been  closely  familiar.  It  was  not  without  great  effort,  but  it 
was  with  the  humble  soul,  the  pure  intent,  and  the  invincible  self- 
control  which  had  ever  characterized  him  that  he  went  to  the  little 
township  of  Hankey,  near  the  coast,  fifty  miles  west  of  Port  Elizabeth. 
Here  he  labored  as  a  preacher  in  Dutch  as  well  as  in  English,  and  as 


352  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

the  administrator  of  a  large  estate,  the  director  of  extensive  engineer- 
ing and  agricultural  operations,  and  as  a  visiting  pastor  and  spiritual 
adviser.  The  climate  did  not  suit  him,  and  the  story  of  his  seven  years 
there  is  the  story  of  hard  work,  endless  worry,  undertaken  without 
complaining  in  the  face  of  increasing  bodily  infirmities.  He  did  not 
lose  his  interest  in  the  mightier  problems  to  which  he  had  given  his 
best  years,  and  with  which  he  was  still  best  fitted  to  cope,  but  only 
occasionally  did  his  local  worries  and  responsibilities  allow  him  time 
for  writing  on  these  subjects.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Congrega- 
tional Union  of  South  Africa,  and  in  the  larger  service  of  the  brother- 
hood of  churches  to  which  this  connection  called  him  he  gave  unsparing 
and  affectionate  service.  In  the  end  of  1898  a  stroke  of  paralysis  laid 
him  low.  He  recovered  for  some  months,  went  to  visit  his  son,  Dr.  J. 
Eddie  Mackenzie,  at  Kimberley,  and  there  passed  away  on  March  23, 
1899. 

So  much  space  has  been  given  to  the  life  of  this  missionary  and 
statesman,  partly  because  his  work  is  so  recent,  partly  because  much 
of  that  work  has  influenced  the  recent  and  present  history  of  South 
Africa  so  profoundly,  and  partly  also  because  it  seemed  right  to  pre- 
sent this  sketch  of  a  man  who  combined  the  intense  devotion  of  the 
evangelist  with  the  broad  and  powerful  views  and  impulses  of  the 
statesman.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  John  Mackenzie  was  one 
of  the  first  men  to  dream  of  South  Africa  as  a  whole,  one  of  the 
first  who  could  honestly  and  earnestly  say  that  he  loved,  not  this 
colony  or  that  native  territory,  but  South  Africa.  And  he  was  one  of 
the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  take  definite  and  intelligent  steps  of  a 
public  nature  towards  the  great  goal  which  now  is  so  clear,  and  seems 
so  near  to  the  eyes  of  all  the  world,  but  which  only  twenty  years 
ago  lay  far  off  in  the  mists  of  the  horizon,  hardly  visible  and  power- 
less to  inspire.  He  loved  South  Africa,  not  first  of  all  because  of 
its  wealth,  as  a  man  of  commerce  might,  nor  first  of  all  as  a  portion 
of  the  British  Empire,  as  patriots  of  the  limited  vision  might,  but  for 
her  own  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  people  who  would  fill  her  vast  plains 
and  wooded  valleys  in  generations  to  come,  of  the  races  that  there  would 
live  in  unexpected  harmony,  enjoying  an  ever-increasing  prosperity. 
He  saw  South  Africa  of  the  future,  presenting  to  the  world,  as  he  dared 


Or 

u 

09 

S 
u 

i 


or 
O 

H 

or 
a 


ff 

a 

K 

u 


u 

a 


O 

or 
tt. 

C/5 

or 
u 

O 
£ 

flf 

a 

-j 
> 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  355 

to  hope,  a  field  upon  which  the  reconciliation  of  the  races  might  be 
wrought  out  in  the  spirit  and  by  the  power  of  the  Christian  religion. 

SECTION    V.      FRANCOIS    COILLARD. 

Francois  Coillard  went  to  South  Africa  under  the  auspices  of  the 
French  Protestant  Basuto  Mission  in  the  year  1857.  It  was  not  until 
the  end  of  1896  that  he  returned  from  the  mission  field  in  which  he 
labored  for  forty  years.  It  is  often  asked  how  it  comes  that  French 
missionaries  are  to  be  found  converting  the  natives  in  lands  that  are 
under  the  British  flag.  In  the  preface  of  his  interesting  book  "On  the 
Threshold  of  Central  Africa,"  Mr.  Coillard  himself  supplies  the  reason. 
In  the  first  place,  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  century  the  Protes- 
tants of  France  were  prohibited  from  missionary  work  in  their  own 
colonies.  In  the  second  place,  the  places  in  which  French  missionary 
influence  is  now  strong  were  not  under  the  British  flag  when  the  Hugue- 
not pastors  first  went  there.  About  1830  the  Reformed  Churches  of 
France  were  anxious  to  find  a  field  for  missionary  effort.  But  no  field 
seemed  open  to  them,  until  they  received  an  appeal  from  Dr.  Philip,  the 
head  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  at  Cape  Town.  In  response  to 
this  appeal  they  founded  the  French  Protestant  Basuto  Mission.  And 
it  was  in  connection  with  this  mission  that  Frangois  Coillard  went  to 
the  Cape  in  1857. 

Mr.  Coillard  married  a  Miss  Mackintosh,  the  daughter  of  the  Eev. 
Lachlan  Mackintosh,  a  Scottish  Congregational  minister.  For  twenty 
years  they  toiled  among  the  Basutos,  and  for  the  greater  part  of  that 
time  they  had  no  settled  home,  but  roamed  the  country  everywhere  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  It  was  not  till  1877  that  they  had  a  church  and 
house  at  Leribe,  the  great  grain-bearing  district  of  Basutoland,  and 
even  those  they  were  not  permitted  to  enjoy  long,  as  they  were  shortly 
afterwards  called  upon  to  conduct  a  missionary  expedition  among  the 
Banyai.  One  evening  in  1877  M.  and  Mme.  Coillard  were  walking  in 
their  pretty  garden,  wrhich  they  had  just  planted,  and  Mme.  Coillard, 
pausing  before  a  quince  hedge,  said,  "I  wonder  after  all  these  wander- 
ings if  we'll  be  allowed  to  rest  for  awhile  and  taste  our  own  quinces." 
But  her  hope  was  not  fulfilled.  In  a  few  months  she  was  accompanying 
her  husband  through  the  wilds  of  Banyailand. 


356  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES. 

During  their  sojourn  among  the  Basutos  the  Coillards  had  many 
bitter  experiences.  In  1865  the  Boers  of  the  Orange  River  Free  State 
expelled  all  the  missionaries  from  Basutoland,  except  those  who  had 
taken  refuge  on  the  top  of  Thaba  Bosigo.  Poor  Madame  Coillard  was 
packed  off  in  such  a  hurry  that  she  had  not  even  time  to  take  her  bread 
from  the  oven.  "Make  the  best  of  it,"  said  the  Boer  Commandant,  de 
Villiers,  brutally,  "for  you'll  never  see  Basutoland  again."  But  in  1868 
the  country  came  under  the  protection  of  the  British,  and  the  Coillards 
went  back  to  their  much  loved  toil.  Their  efforts  were  attended  by 
remarkable  success.  It  was  really  their  Basuto  converts  whose  mis- 
sionary ardor  led  them  north  to  Banyailand  and  Barotseland.  It 
happened  in  this  way: 

In  1875,  a  young  missionary,  Dieperlen,  set  out  to  conduct  a  party  of 
native  Basuto  teachers  through  the  Transvaal,  on  the  way  to  a  mission 
field  among  the  Banyai.  The  Banyai  are  a  native  race  in  what  is  now 
Rhodesia,  near  the  famous  ancient"  ruins  of  Zimbabye,  of  which,  by  the 
way,  M.  Coillard  has  given  an  interesting  account.  Dieperlen  and  his 
Christian  Basutos  passed  through  Pretoria  in  broad  daylight  without 
being  challenged  by  any  of  the  Boers.  Two  days  later,  however,  the 
party  was  arrested  by  twro  Boer  cornets,  the  women  and  children  were 
sent  to  a  farm  house,  the  wagons  confiscated,  and  the  native  mission- 
aries lodged  in  jail,  one  of  them  in  the  condemned  cell.  There  wras  no 
excuse  whatever  for  this  outrage,  except  the  well-known  Boer  dislike  of 
any  attempt  to  Christianize  the  natives.  Poor  Dieperlen  had  to  return 
to  Basutoland,  after  paying  a  fine  of  seventy  dollars  for  no  adequate 
reason  whatsoever. 

The  Coillards  felt  that  it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  make  another 
attempt  to  guide  the  native  teachers  to  Banyailand.  They  were  on  the 
point  of  setting  out  for  Europe  to  enjoy  their  first  furlough  for  twenty 
years,  but  they  willingly  gave  it  up,  and  in  1877  set  out  through  the 
Transvaal.  Pretoria  was  now  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  who 
gladly  passed  them  on  to  the  Limpopo.  But  no  sooner  had  they  entered 
Mashonaland  than  they  were  robbed  of  almost  all  their  belongings  by 
Masonda,  a  native  chieftain.  A  few  weeks  later  they  were  seized  and 
carried  before  the  terrible  Lobengula.  By  him  they  were  kept  in  a 
state  of  semi-captivity  for  a  period  of  four  months.  It  was  not  against 


CHRISTIAN   MISSIONARIES.  357 

the  Coillards  but  against  the  Basuto  missionaries  that  Lobengula's 
anger  was  excited;  he  detested  the  latter  because  their  chief,  Malopo, 
had  given  up  his  kinsman  Langalibale'le  to  the  British.  The  Coillards 
witnessed  some  terrible  scenes  in  Lobengula's  camp  during  their  en- 
I  forced  stay;  on  one  occasion  Lobengula  burned  a  child's  lips  off  with  a 
fire-brand  because  he  had  detected  him  in  some  petty  falsehood.  He 
would  not  believe  that  the  missionaries  had  come  through  the  Trans- 
vaal, because  Queen  Victoria,  he  said,  was  not  sovereign  of  the  Trans- 
vaal, and,  if  they  had  come  through  her  domains,  she  would  certainly 
have  sent  him  a  present!  One  of  the  party  incautiously  said  that  per- 
haps she  did  not  know  of  his  existence.  "What?"  said  Lobengula, 
"never  heard  of  ME?"  Mme.  Coillard  saved  the  situation  by  saying, 
"Yes,  there  are  people  so  benighted  as  never  to  have  heard  of  you,  great 
king,"  whereat  the  dusky  monarch  was  satisfied.  It  was  owing  to  Mme. 
Coillard's  influence  that  the  missionaries  were  finally  allowed  to  go 
among  the  Banyai,  where  they  founded  these  missions  that  are  now 
being  carried  on  by  the  Dutch  Keformed  Church. 

After  a  two  years'  holiday  in  Europe  from  '80  to  '82,  during  which 
time  he  gathered  funds  for  his  work,  Coillard  proceeded  to  Barotseland 
in  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  vast  territory  that  now  bears  the 
name  of  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes.  Here  he  labored  for  sixteen  years,  founding 
five  important  missionary  settlements  which  are  now  carrying  on  the 
good  work  he  initiated.  His  devoted  wife  died  in  Barotseland,  but  he 
was  much  comforted  in  his  niece  Elise,  who  had  married  one  of  his  help- 
ers M.  Jeanmairet.  In  1896  Coillard's  health  broke  down,  and  he  was 
only  saved  by  an  operation  performed  at  Kimberley  by  Dr.'  Mackenzie, 
the  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Mackenzie.  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  M. 
Coillard  thoroughly  approved  of  the  suppression  of  the  Matabele  power, 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  thoroughly  disapproved  of  the  bigotry  and 
cruelty  of  the  Boers.  This  support  of  the  orthodox  British  opinion  is 
the  more  noteworthy  as  Coillard  is  a  Frenchman  and  therefore  little 
likely  to  view  British  neighbors  with  any  great  favor.  At  the  end  of 
'96  Coillard  returned  to  Europe,  after  spending  forty  years  in  a  noble 
effort  to  Christianize  the  black  population  of  South  Africa. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
CAPE  TOWN. 

"Hail,  snatched  and  bartered  oft  from  hand  to  hand  .    .    .  " 

— Rudyard  Kipling. 

FIRST  owned  by  the  Portuguese  and  used  by  them  almost  exclu- 
sively for  90  years  as  a  port  of  call  for  their  Indian  trade,  Cape 
Town  became  gradually  the  regular  calling  station  for  all  the 
fleets  of  merchantmen  trading  with  the  East.  In  1652  Van  Riebeek, 
with  three  small  ships,  founded  the  Dutch  settlement,  consisting  of 
a  "fort  and  garden,"  at  Cape  Town,  from  which  the  Colony  has  grown. 
The  sole  aim  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  was  to  establish  a 
place  of  refreshment  for  their  ships,  outward  and  homeward  bound. 
In  1795  a  British  force,  under  Sir  George  Keith  Elphinstone,  landed 
at  Cape  Town  and  the  rule  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  ended, 
after  having  lasted  143  years.  By  the  treaty  of  Amiens  in  1802  the 
colony  was  given  back  to  the  Dutch  and  in  1803  the  Dutch  flag  again 
waved  over  the  Castle  at  Cape  Town.  The  new  regime,  however,  was 
destined  to  last  for  a  very  short  period,  as  in  1806  the  British  again 
resumed  control  over  the  colony  with  their  chief  military  post  at  Cape 
Town.  Thus  ended  the  bartering  and  change  in  the  ownership  of  Cape 
Town  and  the  Colony;  since  then  the  British  have  remained  in  undis- 
turbed possession. 

But  we  must  turn  from  the  historical  to  the  geographical  point  of 
view,  both  of  which  are  necessary  to  enable  us  to  grasp  the  actual 
conditions  of  life  and  the  traditions  controlling  them  at  Cape  Town. 
The  town  lies  under  the  shadow  of  Table  Mountain,  and  its  three 
attendant  peaks  of  Signal  Hill,  the  Lion's  Head  and  the  Devil's  Peak. 
The  narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  sea  and  the  mountain  is  filled 
by  the  business  portion  of  the  town,  while  the  suburbs  run  round 
the  base  of  the  mountains.  The  city,  therefore,  forms  almost  a 

358 


CAPE  TOWN.  350 

semicircle  round  its  guardian  mountain.  The  peninsula  upon  which 
Cape  Town  is  situated  is  provided  with  two  excellent  harbors — Table 
Bay  in  the  north  and  False  Bay  in  the  south.  Cape  Town  lies  on  the 
shores  of  the  former,  while  Simonstown,  the  naval  headquarters,  is 
situated  on  the  western  shore  of  the  latter,  and  larger,  bay.  The  close 
proximity  of  the  towns  to  the  mountains  makes  it  liable  to  heavy  rains. 
As  the  clouds  are  caught  passing  eastward  from  the  sea,  they  discharge 
their  contents  on  Cape  Town,  while  the  suburbs  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountain  may  be  enjoying  dry,  fine  weather.  Similarly  the  heat 
is  often  most  oppressive  in  Cape  Town  proper,  as  the  sun's  rays  are 
stopped  by  the  slopes  of  Table  Mountain,  while  the  hot  winds,  unable 
to  pursue  their  course  freely,  seem  to  settle  down  as  regular  inhabit- 
ants of  the  luckless  city.  Cape.  Town,  when  seen  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  hot  winds  and  dust  storms,  is  not  at  all  likely  to  charm  the 
visitor  or  to  bear  out  the  prospect  unrolled  before  him  as  his  ship 
approached  the  harbor.  The  suburbs  of  Cape  Town,  however,  enable  the 
residents  to  avoid  these  plagues,  and  indeed  they  gain  by  them  through 
the  relief  felt  on  escaping  from  the  Gehenna  of  the  sweltering  town. 
After  that  any  suburb  would  appear  cool  and  refreshing.  And  the  sub- 
urbs of  Cape  Town  are  by  no  means  to  be  despised,  even  when  judged 
on  their  merits.  They  have  abundance  of  trees  and  shady  walks,  while 
the  views  of  the  mountains  are  exquisite  in  their  variety. 

But  to  everyone  who  visits  Cape  Town  there  is  one  scene  which 
always  lingers  in  the  memory  and  which  compares  favorably  with  every 
other  scene  the  world  over.  Not  even  Sydney  harbor,  the  entrance  to 
Hong  Kong,  or  Nagasaki  harbor  can  excel,  in  beauty  the  view  of  Cape 
Town  from  the  anchorage  in  Table  Bay.  Seen  in  the  early  morning, 
when  the  mists  are  slowly  melting  before  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  as 
the  town  and  mountain  are  revealed,  it  is  more  exquisite  than  at  any 
other  time  in  the  day.  Moonlight,  of  course,  gives  an  indescribable 
beauty  to  the  sleeping  town  and  harbor.  But  in  the  morning  it  is 
as  if  a  curtain  were  slowTly  being  drawn  away  from  before  a  master- 
piece and  when  finally  the  whole  panorama  lies  revealed  it  is  indelibly 
engraved  on  the  memory. 

Alas,  that  on  landing  the  idyllic  must  fade  into  the  real  and  the 
dream  of  the  distance  into  the  matter-of-fact  commonplace  of  close  prox- 


360  CAPE   TOWN. 

imity.  But  to  say  that  Cape  Town  is  commonplace  would  be  to  give  a 
wrong  impression,  because  it  is  never  that.  There  is  always  something 
strange  and  picturesque  to  be  seen  or  heard,  and  though  the  town  is  too 
sleepy  to  compare  favorably  with  the  eastern  ports  of  Port  Elizabeth 
and  Durban,  it  gains  rather  than  loses  charm  for  that  reason.  Every- 
where can  be  seen  the  Dutch  and  the  English  styles  jostling  each  other, 
in  calm  disregard  of  all  rules  of  uniformity  or  symmetry.  The  low  Dutch 
house  with  its  wide  stoeps  stands  side  by  side  writh  the  new  fashioned 
English  store  or  hotel.  This  mixture  of  two  such  varying  styles  can 
have  but  one  effect,  that  of  giving  a  ragged,  unkempt  look  to  the  streets, 
and  to  the  whole  town.  Adderley  street  is  the  best  example  of  the 
impossibility  of  making  a  modern  street  which  has  to  include  these 
antique  houses.  Every  now  and  then 'the  pavement  is  broken  up  by 
an  old  fashioned  stoep,  which,  obstinate  like  its  builder,  persists  in 
running  out  into  the  street  in  its  own  way.  So,  despite  its  fine  build- 
ings, Cape  Town  can  never  hope  to  aspire  to  be  a  really  modern  look- 
ing town:  at  least  until  the  Dutch  citizens  are  helped  to  imagine  that 
the  ugly  new  English  houses  are  to  be  preferred  to  their  own  comfort- 
able and  useful  style  of  building. 

That  Cape  Town  has  some  fine  buildings  no  one  can  deny.  The 
station,  the  post-office,  and  the  parliament  buildings  are  excellent 
examples  of  modern  architecture  and  worthy  of  the  capital  of  the 
Cape  Colony.  The  Government  House  is  not  at  all  modern;  the  old- 
est portion  dating  from  1740  and  various  additions  having  been  made 
irrespective  of  appearances.  The  whole,  looked  at  from  an  architec- 
tural point  of  view,  resembles  a  patchwork  quilt  more  than  anything 
else.  However,  it  is  proposed  to  erect  a  new  Government  House  in  the 
suburbs,  near  Rondebosch,  probably. 

Pleen  street  is  the  second  street  of  importance  and  is  the  center 
of  all  the  cheap  emporiums  of  the  town.  On  Saturday  nights  the 
scenes  are  frequently  of  the  wildest  and  gayest  description,  as  the 
Malays  come  out,  gaudily  dressed  in  their  best,  to  do  their  shopping. 

The  Parade  Ground,  laid  out  in  1699,  lying  at  the  back  of  the  post- 
office,  is  a  vast  expanse  of  open  ground  utilized  for  Saturday  auctions 
and  for  reviews  of  the  troops  of  the  garrison. 

However  interesting  may  be  the  town  itself  it  can  scarcelv  com- 


CAPE   TOWN.  361 

pare  with  the  interest  to  be  derived  from  the  population.  A  leading 
Australian  politician  well  said  of  Cape  Town  that  "while  in  his  colony 
the  population  was  homogeneous,  here  there  was  all  the  world."  And 
so  it  would  seem.  Here  are,  of  course,  British  and  Dutchmen,  while 
representatives  of  all  the  other  European  races  are  to  be  found.  Malays 
and  Kaffirs  abound,  while  half-castes  and  mixed  breeds  of  all  degrees 
and  of  all  shades  crowd  together  along  the  roads.  Here  also  mcy  be 
seen  Chinese,  patient  gardeners^  always  able  to  make  cabbage  grow 
where  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  else  to  succeed.  Emblem  of  the 
yellow  danger:  the  little  blessing  of  cabbage  and  the  great  curse  of 
a  virile  nature,  endowed  with  endless  patience,  combating  the  domin- 
ion of  the  white  man!  All  types  are  here  and  all  are  subject  to  the 
law,  the  law  of  the  Empire,  and  are  able  to  live  peaceably  together  in 
a  way  impossible  under  any  other  rule. 

After  Table  Mountain  the  pride  of  Cape  Town  is  its  system  of  docks, 
which  although  of  national  importance,  has  been  paid  for  by  the 
Colony  alone.  As  far  back  as  1743  steps  were  taken  to  protect  the 
bay  and  since  then  work  has  been  steadily  proceeding  until  now  there 
is  safety  for  a  number  of  ships.  There  is  besides  a  graving  dock,  and 
a  large  outer  harbor  is  rapidly  approaching  completion.  The  work 
on  the  breakwaters  is  practically  all  done  by  convicts,  principally  men 
from  Kimberley  condemned  for  the  offence  of  illicit  diamond  buying  or 
selling. 

Within  the  last  few  years  a  system  of  electric  trams  has  been  in- 
stalled and  gives  every  satisfaction.  It  is  well  to  note  that  in  practi- 
cally all  the  large  South  African  towns  American  trams  are  in  use. 
Electric  light  is  also  in  use  in  the  streets  and  the  docks.  The  water 
supply  is  derived  from  Table  Mountain,  where  there  are  immense  res- 
ervoirs. 

The  principal  suburbs  of  Cape  Town  are  Green  and  Sea  Points  to 
the  west,  and  Woodstock,  Maitland,  Rondebosch,  Claremont  and  Wyn- 
berg  to  the  east.  The  western  suburbs  have  the  advantage  of  the  sea 
view  and  of  the  sea  breezes  while  they  have  excellent  connection  with 
Cape  Town  by  electric  tram  and  by  rail.  The  eastern  suburbs  are  also 
connected  with  Cape  Town  by  a  railway,  which  runs  down  to  Simons- 
town,  passing  Kalk  Bay,  a  favorite  watering  place  on  False  Bay. 


362  CAPE   TOWN. 

The  population  of  Cape  Town,  according  to  the  census  of  1891,  is 
51,083,  of  whom  25,253  are  Europeans,  and  8,255  Malays.  The  re- 
mainder are  Kaffirs  and  other  natives.  The  population  both  black  and 
white  has,  howTever,  increased  considerably  in  the  last  nine  years. 

At  the  present  moment  Cape  Town  is  one  of  the  most  important 
points  in  South  Africa.  Here  the  whole  of  the  British  army  corps 
will  land  and  here  they  will  entrain  for  the  north.  It  may  be  well 
just  to  glance  at  the  distances  of  Cape  Town  from  the  various  towns 
of  South  Africa.  From  Southampton  5,978  miles,  from  Kimberley  647 
miles,  from  Buluwayo  1,361  miles,  from  Bloemfontein  750  miles,  and 
from  Johannesburg  1,014  miles, 

Cape  Town  must  always  be  remarkable  for  its  lovely  view,  for 
Table -Mountain,  and  as  the  finest  example  that  can  be  had  of  the  re- 
sult of  the  attempt  to  combine  two  stubborn  northern  races  and  to  weld 
them  into  one  nation. 


CHAPTER  V. 
JOHANNESBURG. 

THE  CITY  OF  GOLD  AND  DRINK  AND  DUST. 

THE  greatest  of  all  the  many  interests  centered  in  the  town  of 
Johannesburg  is  the  fact  that  it  did  not  exist  before  1886.  Only 
thirteen  years  old  and  yet  so  incredibly  big  and  so  incredibly 
bad.  The  very  rapidity  of  its  growth  has  been  the  cause  of  its  ruin; 
nowhere  else  could  such  a  city  have  arisen  in  so  short  a  time.  The 
mere  fact  of  there  being  a  gold  reef  would  not,  in  itself,  be-  sufficient 
to  have  called  a  substantial  town  of  some  102,000  inhabitants  into 
being.  But  when  the  reef  is  not  quartz,  but  a  conglomerate,  in  which 
the  gold  runs  regularly  and  evenly,  without  breaks  and  faults,  then 
and  only  then  can  it  call  up  such  a  permanent  town.  Wherever  else 
gold  has  been  discovered  the  tendency  has  always  been  to  avoid  build- 
ing the  houses  too  w^ell  for  fear  that  it  might  be  money  thrown  awa^ 
if  the  gold  gave  out.  But  on  the  Rand  there  is  no  talk  of  such  a 
possibility;  the  mine  proprietors  in  Johannesburg  feel  as  secure  in  the 
future  of  their  gold  as  does  the  De  Beers  Company  at  Kimberley  in 
the  future  of  their  diamonds. 

'  Thus  the  little  fact  that  the  gold  runs  regularly  through  the  reef 
makes  Johannesburg  a  substantially  built  town  instead  of  a  corrugated 
atrocity.  It  is  as  well  that  the  town  should  have  the  satisfaction  of 
being  well  built,  because  that  is  about  the  only  thing  it  has  to  be 
proud  of.  Of  course  much  must  be  forgiven  to  such  an  infant  com- 
munity and  nobody  would  expect  it  to  rival  or  even  approach  older 
towns  in  its  municipal  and  social  arrangements.  Certainly  it  is  as 
well  not  to  expect  anything  good,  because  very  little  will  be  found  to 
reward  such  expectations. 

Johannesburg  extends  over  an  area  of  some  six  square  miles  and 
contains  126  miles  of  roads  and  streets.  The  parks  occupy  an  area 
of  84  acres.  The  site  on  which  the  pioneers  of  the  Rand  elected  to 
found  their  city  lies  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Witwatersrand  Range, 

363 


364  JOHANNESB  URG. 

one  of  the  bleakest  and  most  elevated  spots  in  the  Transvaal,  where 
land  for  agricultural  or  pastoral  purposes  was  of  so  little  value  that 
farms  changed  hands  sometimes  for  the  value  of  a  team  of  oxen.  Of 
course  the  conditions  are  much  changed  now,  or  rather  were  so  in  the 
time  of  the  boom  in  1896  and  1897,  when  two  stands  in  Commissioner 
street  sold  for  £22,000  (about  |110,000)  and  one  in  Pritchard  street 
brought  in  £40,000  (about  $200,000).  At  the  time  of  the  boom 
there  was  nothing  talked  of  but  land  and  "stands"  (as  the  building 
sites  are  there  designated.)  At  breakfast  people  announced  their 
intention  of  bu3ring  so  much  land  at  £5  ($25)  a  foot;  at  dinner  in  the 
evening  the  news  came  out  that  they  had  sold  it  at  £10  ($50)  a  foot 
during  the  day.  Everybody  was  land-inad  and  the  boom  recalled  in 
many  respects  the  Australian  land  booms  when  land  covered  with 
water  fetched  fabulous  prices  for  building  sites!  The  boom  broke,  as 
all  booms  do,  and  the  price  of  land  (even  before  the  war)  was  ridicu- 
lous and  so  low  as  to  lead  new-comers  to  disbelieve  the  stories  of  the 
prices  paid  in  1896  and  1897.  Whereas  a  house  in  1896  would  bring 
in  £60  ($300)  rent  it  now  brings  in  £10  ($50)  to  £15  ($75),  if  it  be  so 
fortunate  as  to  be  let. 

The  gold,  with  its  steadily  increasing  output,  saved  Johannesburg 
from  the  worst  effects  of  the  breaking  of  the  boom.  Ten  years  ago 
the  value  of  the  output  was  £1,490,568  (about  seven  and  a  half  million 
dollars);  this  year  it  has  reached  the  huge  total  of  over  £20,000,000 
(over  $100,000,000). 

But  the  very  atmosphere  of  Johannesburg  is  unhealthy  and  charged 
with  the  fever  of  speculation.  The  only  object  of  the  presence  of  the 
great  majority  is  to  make  money.  There  is  no  thought  in  their  minds 
as  to  the  welfare  of  the  town  or  of  the  government  of  the  Transvaal. 
The  mining  tax  does  not  touch  the  rank  and  file  directly,  as  it  does 
the  companies,  and  the  question  of  obtaining  the  franchise  does  not 
weigh  so  much  with  the  great  majority  of  the  Outlanders  as  does  the 
price  of  the  latest  fashion  in  drinks. 

The  first  intimation  the  traveler  receives  that  he  is  nearing  the 
Golden  City  is  when  the  railway  passes  beside  the  outlying  mines  on 
the  reef.  There  are  no  stations  near  to  the  greater  number  of  these 
mines  so  the  general  practice  of  those  wishing  to  reach  them  is  simply 


JOHANNESBURG.  365 

to  jump  off  the  moving  train  into  the  red  dust  of  the  veld.  Of  course 
the  trains  do  not  move  extremely  rapid,  but  it  is  a  wonder  that  more 
accidents  do  not  happen,  especially  during  the  night.  The  Park  Sta- 
tion at  Johannesburg  is  really  a  very  fine  modern  erection,  lit  with  elec- 
tric light  and  boasting  all  the  conveniences  of  an  up-to-date  railway 
terminus.  This  excellence  is  by  no  means  shared  by  the  majority  of 
Transvaal  stations.  For  instance,  on  the  journey  from  Durban,  it  is 
impossible  to  obtain  refreshments  after  crossing  the  Natal  frontier! 

The  prevailing  color  of  Johannesburg  and  the  inhabitants  is  red; 
clothes  and  collars  are  immediately  covered  with  the  fine  red  dust 
and  sand  from  the  mines  and  the  veld.  Dust  storms  are  very  preva- 
lent and  many  hours  may  be  spent  in  almost  absolute  darkness,  while 
the  air  is  thick  with  red  dust  and  the  traffic  in  the  streets  is  discon- 
tinued. Of  course  the  water  supply  is  so  defective  that  none  can  be 
spared  for  watering  of  the  roads.  Thus  the  dust  has  its  own  way  in 
Johannesburg;  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  it  makes  good  use  of 
its  freedom! 

The  principal  streets  are  Commissioner  street,  Pritchard  street  and 
President  street.  These  are  lined  by  many  stately  piles  of  buildings, 
containing  offices  and  stores,  which  have  had  enormous  sums  expended 
upon  them. 

The  town  is  overlooked  by  Hospital  Hill,  which  rises  to  the  north. 
While  it  takes  its  name  from  the  hospital  built  on  it,  by  far  the  most 
conspicuous  building  is  the  jail,  with,  close  at  hand,  the  fort  and  the 
police  barracks.  The  danger  from  the  fort  is  not  great  as  it  could 
not  withstand  a  determined  assault,  and  as  for  harming  Johannesburg, 
that  can  be  done  more  easily  with  explosives  in  the  town  and  mines 
themselves.  But  undoubtedly  its  erection  there  and  its  aspect  as  it 
threatens  the  town  with  its  guns,  give  it  an  "uncanny"  place  in  the 
minds  of  the  citizens. 

Viewed  from  Hospital  Hill  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  town 
is  the  great  numbers  of  trees  which  break  up  the  blocks  of  houses. 
To  look  at  a  view  of  Johannesburg  in  1886  and  then  to  see  the  results 
of  thirteen  years'  work  makes  one  doubt  one's  eyes.  The  big  buildings 
can  be  understood,  but  how  was  it  possible  to  induce  trees  to  grow  in 
such  profusion?  The  open  spaces  in  Johannesburg  are  fairly  numer- 


360  JOHANNESBURG. 

ous  and,  though  having  rather  a  deserted  and  forlorn  aspect,  they 
must  conduce  greatly  to  the  health  of  the  town. 

One  of  the  finest  parts  of  the  town  is  the  road  above  the  railway 
bridge  on  the  way  to  Dornfontein  on  the  north,  along  which  the 
tramway  runs  between  Kruger's  and  Joubert's  Parks,  under  a  broad, 
handsome  avenue  of  blue  gum  and  other  trees,  leading  directly  to  Hos- 
pital Gardens  and  to  the  hospital.  There  are  also  some  very  pleasant 
suburbs  within  easy  reach  of  the  town  by  tram.  Here  the  trees  are 
to  be  seen  in  even  greater  profusion  than  in  Johannesburg  itself. 

One  of  the  great  drawbacks  to  Johannesburg  is  the  fact  that  the 
natives,  employed  in  the  mines,  are  not  kept  in  compounds,  but  are 
free  to  wander  about  at  will.  When  this  is  coupled  with  the  fact  that 
there  are  in  the  town  an  enormous  number  of  low  public  houses  and 
canteens  (almost  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  every  hundred  of  the  popu- 
lation), there  can  be  no  denying  the  serious  nature  of  the  danger. 

The  police  force  is  defective  and  unable  to  cope  with  the  difficul- 
ties that  arise.  The  men  are  principally  Germans  or  Hollanders  and 
no  British  are  allowed  to  join  the  ranks.  The  "zarps"  (constables) 
always  proceed  in  twos  and  frequently  do  not  hear  inconvenient  calls 
to  duty. 

The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  crowds  in  the  streets  is  the  great 
number  of  Jews  that  are  to  be  seen.  Polish  Jewrs,  Russian  Jews, 
German  Jews,  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  Jews  are  there,  but  always 
well  to  the  front,  with  the  customary  display  of  diamonds.  Round  the 
Stock  Exchange  and  the  headquarters  of  the  innumerable  lottery  and 
sweepstake  offices  they  naturally  are  well  represented.  But  really  the 
whole  of  the  male  population  seems  to  think  it  as  much  their  duty  to 
take  a  lottery  or  sweepstake  ticket  as  it  is  to  drink  with  any  acquaint- 
ance they  may  meet.  The  moral  tone  of  the  community  is  debased 
and  degraded.  Amusements  with  drinking  are  (or  very  many  of  them) 
the  only  methods  of  spending  the  evening  on  returning  from  work  at 
the  mines. 

Cape  carts  and  the  rickshas  are  the  means  of  conveyance  at  the 
disposal  of  those  who  do  not  wish  to  use  the  trams.  The  great  Market 
Square  used  to  present  a  very  fine  sight  in  the  mornings  with  the 
countless  teams  of  oxen  and  the  half  tilted  wagons.  Since  the  rinder- 


JOHANNESBURG.  307 

pest,  however,  the  old  scenes  have  never  really  been  repeated.     The 
Market  Place  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  largest  in  South  Africa. 

Water  is  laid  on  to  the  houses  in  pipes,  the  principal  source  being 
at  Zuwebekom,  15  miles  from  the  town.  Although  not  so  expensive 
as  formerly,  Johannesburg  is  still  one  of  the  most  costly  places  of 
residence  in  the  world.  Half-a-crown  there  equals  in  purchasing  power 
one  shilling  in  London. 

As  a  curious  instance  of  the  backwardness  of  many  of  the  institu- 
tions which  we  have  been  taught  to  consider  indispensable,  mention 
may  be  made  of  the  condition  of  the  post-office  in  1897,  on  the  arrival 
of  the  English  mail.  The  counter  at  which  letters  were  given  out  was 
about  nine  feet  long  'at  one  end  of  a  smallish  room.  Consequently  as 
soon  as  the  room  was  packed  the  crowd  would  extend  far  out  into  the 
square  and  there  they  would  have  to  wait  for  hours  before  they  could 
approach  the  counter,  possibly  to  find  that  there  were  no  letters  for 
them.  This  sight  is  one  that  lingers  longest  in  the  memory  of  spec- 
tators and  longer  still  in  the  memory  of  participators! 

All  day  and  all  night  Johannesburg  resounds  with  the  noise  of  the 
stamps  in  the  batteries  until,  when  Sunday  arrives,  the  very  quietness 
seems  oppressive.  Now,  however,  all  the  stamps  are  quiet  and  in  all 
probability  the  whole  of  the  solid  and  magnificent  machinery  of  the 
Rand  will  be  destroyed  by  the  Boers.  In  emulation  of  the  Russians  who 
burnt  Moscow  in  the  hour  of  Napoleon's  victory,  the  Boers  will  strike 
a  last  blow  at  their  enemies  by  destroying  the  millions  of  pounds'  worth 
of  machinery  and  shafts.  Johannesburg,  the  city  of  gold,  is  silent  and 
deserted  now,  and  has  only  to  look  forward  to  the  ruin  of  her  wonderful 
development  in  a  few  moments  of  scientific  destruction.  Like  ihe  cities 
of  the  plain  she  may  be  destroyed,  but  as  long  as  there  is  the  gold 
reef,  men  will  flock  to  obtain  it  and  a  new  Johannesburg  will  arise 
from  the  ruins. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
KIMBERLEY  AND  THE  DIAMOND  MINES. 

THE    DREARIEST    AND    THE    LIVELIEST    TOWN    IN    SOUTH    AFRICA. 

THIS  seeming  paradox  is  easily  explained.  To  realize  the 
first  definition  we  must  imagine  a  straggling  town  in  brick,  iron 
and  wood,  standing  in  the  level  veldt.  For  miles  around  there 
is  nothing  much  higher  than  a  dwarf  bush.  To  be  sure  it  must  be 
admitted  that  for  a  few  months  after  the  rains  this  veldt  is  unrecog- 
nizable with  its  carpet  of  lovely  flowers  and  tender  grass.  This  beauty, 
however,  may  be  said  only  to  accentuate  the  dreariness  of  the  flat  sur- 
roundings during  the  rest  of  the  year.  There  are  no  woods  to  visit, 
there  are  no  country  drives  to  be  taken,  there  is  simply  nothing  except 
Kimberley.  There  is  no  country  near  Kimberley.  There  is,  to  be  sure, 
boating  to  be  had  at  Modder  Eiver,  but  that  necessitates  a  railway 
journey  and  cannot  come  under  the  head  of  a  regular  element  in  the 
relief  of  the  dreariness  of  Kimberley.  The  very  debris  heaps  from 
the  mines,  low,  drab,  uncanny  looking  hills  of  dirt,  add  to  the  utter 
desolation  of  the  surroundings  of  the  town.  Truly,  if  any  town  can 
lay  claim  to  the  title  of  dreariness,  Kimberley  should  be  that  town. 
But  the  very  fact  of  the  dreariness  causes  the  second  definition  to  be 
true.  The  inhabitants,  having  no  outside  means  of  enjoyment  and 
amusement,  make  up  for  the  lack  by  a  most  complete  cultivation  of 
the  art  of  internal  amusement. 

Neighbors  do  not  stand  aloof  from  neighbors,  but  rather  vie  with 
them  in  promoting  the  general  gaiety  and  happiness  of  the  town. 
Outdoor  games  are  largely  patronized,  bicycling  gives  ample  oppor- 
tunities for  gymkhanas  and  picnics;  balls  and  dances,  concerts  and 
dramatic  performances  enable  the  inhabitants  of  Kimberley  to  sup- 
port the  dreariness.  Not  even  the  siege  of  the  town  by  the  Boers 
could  discourage  the  people  of  Kimberley  from  giving  a  dance,  even 
though  it  might  be  preceded  by  a  skirmish.  But  really  they  are  to 

368 


K1MBERLEY  AND   THE  DIAMOND  MINES.  369 

be  envied,  these  citizens  of  the  dreariest  town  in  South  Africa!  It 
would  be  almost  worth  while  to  isolate  some  of  the  large  towns  of  the 
northern  hemisphere  if  it  would  enable  us  to  enjoy  ourselves  as  thor- 
oughly as  do  the  people  of  Kimberley. 

But  apart  from  the  social  affairs  of  the  people,  the  cause  and  reason 
of  Kimberley  is  the  diamond. 

Kimberley  is  the  seat  of  the  industry  which  first  saved  Africa. 
Kimberley  is  the  real  home  of  the  prince  of  gems.  Golconda,  of  In- 
dian fame,  is  but  a  phrase  beside  it.  It  boasts  the  biggest  and  the 
richest  holes  of  man's  making  in  the  surface  of  the  earth. 

One  day,  rather  more  than  twenty-eight  years  ago,  a  trader  out- 
spanned  at  a  farm  between  the  Vaal  and  Orange  rivers,  and  noticed 
a  pretty  white  stone  in  the  hands  of  a  Griqua  serving  lad: 

A  something  pottled-bodied  boy 
That  knuckled  at  the  taw. 

The  stone  fetched  £500.  It  was  the  "first  diamond."  The  Griqua 
urchin,  you  may  say,  was  innocently  playing  chuck-penny  with  the 
destinies  of  South  Africa. 

The  river  diggings  on  the  Vaal  are  still  successfully  worked. 

In  1870,  however,  the  whole  industry  was  turned  upside  down  by 
the  discovery  of  the  "Diggings."  Where  Kimberley  now  stands,  with 
its  population  of  perhaps  twenty-eight  thousand  (nearly  half  of  whom 
are  workers  in  the  mines),  there  were  three  farms  in  the  flat,  bushy 
plain,  the  names  of  which  or  of  their  owners  were  presently  immor- 
talized by  the  proclamation  of  the  diamond  mines  of  Du  Toit's  Pan, 
Bultfontein,  and  De  Beers. 

The  mines  were  worked  by  many  small  companies  and  groups  of 
miners  until  finally  in  1891  the  celebrated  amalgamation  of  all  the 
mines  and  companies  took  place.  The  reason  was  not  far  to  seek,  for 
excessive  competition  had  rapidly  reduced  the  price  of  diamonds  to 
its  lowest  ebb.  The  fortunes  of  Kimberley  hung  in  the  balance.  Only 
one  thing  could  save  them — amalgamation.  But  that,  with  so  many 
and  such  conflicting  interests,  seemed  at  first  impossible. 

Guided  by  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  and  by  his  fellow  worker,  Mr.  Beit,  the 


370  KIMBERLEY  AND   T-HE  DIAMOND  MINES. 

De  Beers  Company  began  secretly  and  steadily,  through  agents,  to 
acquire  the  main  interest  in  all  the  others,  until  one  fine  day  it  was 
found  that  they  were  masters  of  the  situation.  Kemoulding  themselves 
into  the  "De  Beers  Consolidated,"  with  a  trust  deed  empowering  them 
to  engage  in  any  and  every  undertaking  conducive  to  their  end,  the 
directors  in  this  wray  amalgamated  first  De  Beers  and  then  all  the 
other  mines  into  one  colossal  syndicate.  The  company  acquired  also 
a  preponderant  interest  in  the  only  other  diamond  diggings  which  need 
be  considered,  and  controls  to-day  the  diamond  industry  of  the  world. 

Thus  we  see  how,  by  the  simple  process  of  amalgamation,  Kim- 
berley  became  what  it  is  to-day,  a  De  Beers  town.  Whether  it  would 
have  been  better  for  the  town  under  the  old  regime  or  not  is  a  diffi- 
cult question  to  answer.  Though  the  amalgamation  had  at  first  a 
bad  effect  in  reducing  the  population  by  about  one-half,  the  tide  has 
now  turned  and  there  are  ample  signs  that  in  the  future  it  will  be  one 
of  the  most  important  and  largest  towns  In  South  Africa. 

If  it  was  the  boast  of  Augustus  that  he  found  Rome  of  brick  and 
left  it  of  marble,  the  enterprising  men  of  Kimberley  may  claim  to 
have  effected  an  equally  striking  transformation,  for  they  are  fast 
turning  the  Kimberley  of  iron  into  one  of  brick.  The  town  labors 
under  the  disadvantage  common  to  most  mining  towTns,  in  that  its 
most  striking  feature  is  the  irregularity  with  which  it  is  laid  out.  The 
straight  streets,  crossing  at  right  angles  and  at  equal  distances,  so 
generally  found  in  South  Africa,  as  well  as  in  America,  are  replaced 
by  a  want  of  uniformity,  due  no  doubt  to  its  gradual  growth  along 
the  cart  tracks  used  amongst  the  mines.  While  this  irregularity  has 
many  disadvantages,  it  is  calculated  to  please  the  eye  of  the  British 
emigrant  and  to  remind  him  of  home.  Probably,  however,  the  citizens 
of  Kimberley  wTould  prefer  to  be  able  to  displease  the  old  fashioned 
idea  of  new-comers.  They  believe  that  there  are  so  many  delightful 
things  in  Kimberley  that  the  very  straightest  of  straight  roads  could 
not  destroy  its  charm. 

Before  passing  to  the  all  important  subject  of  the  Diamond  mines 
it  would  be  as  well  to  say  a  few  words  as  to  the  suitability  of  Kim- 
berley as  a  health  resort.  Situated  as  it  is  over  4,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  enjoying  a  singularly  dry  climate,  it  would  seem 


II 


d       00-2 

S  «>  »  a  2 

•O  d •^•^ 

IB! 


KIMBERLEY  AND  THE  DIAMOND  MlXLS.  37;J 

as  if  it  should  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  those  suffering  from  diseases 
of  the  chest.  Acting  on  this  assumption  patients  are  sent  out  from 
Great  Britain  and  elsewhere  in  all  conditions  and  in  all  stages  of  dis- 
ease. As  often  as  not  they  are  unable  to  afford  the  price  of  special 
treatment  at  the  Sanatorium  and  expect  that  the  mere  fact  of  being 
at  Kimberley  will  cure  them.  The  great  majority  succumb  to  the 
bad  food  and  to  the  irritation  caused  by  the  dust.  Besides  doing  no 
good  to  themselves  the  patients  are  a  great  source  of  danger  to  the 
inhabitants  generally,  the  ever  present  dust  affording  an  admirable 
medium  for  spreading  the  germs  of  the  disease. 

Besides  the  Sanatorium  there  is  an  excellent  hospital  with  accom- 
modation for  250  patients  (European  and  native). 

The  population  of  Kimberley  is  28,000,  of  whom  12,600  are  of  Euro- 
pean extraction.  Situated  as  it  is,  so  close  to  the  frontier  of  the  Orange 
Free  State,  during  the  present  war  it  is  inevitable  that  numbers  of 
the  burghers  should  be  able  to  enter  the  town  and  ascertain  all  par- 
ticulars as  to  its  means  of  defense  and  the  position  of  its  intrenchments. 

It  seems  strange,  however,  that  even  up  to  the  actual  investment, 
Boers  were  allowed  to  come  in  as  they  chose,  even  although  none  of 
the  inhabitants  were  allowred  to  penetrate  through  the  Boer  lines. 

The  principal  road  is  the  Du  Toits  Pan  road,  in  which  are  situated 
many  of  the  best  buildings.  For  a  short  distance  it  has  quite  an  import- 
ant aspect,  but  soon  its  houses  become  straggling  and  small.  Every- 
where, however,  one  is  conscious  of  the  fact  that  it  is  the  Diamond 
Town  and  that  De  Beers  owns  it.  If  it  is  not  a  debris  heap  that  re- 
minds one,  it  is  a  chimney  or  else  a  glimpse  of  some  of  the  winding 
plant  at  the  head  of  the  mine.  As  the  mines  seem  omnipresent,  it 
may  be  as  well  to  deal  with  them  at  some  length.  They  are  unique 
and  well  worth  a  much  longer  description  than  we  have  room  to  give. 

The  old  system  of  open  workings  has  been  abandoned  in  the  case 
of  the  two  most  important  mines — the  Kimberley  and  the  De  Beers — 
as  although  considerably  cheaper,  it  was  impossible  to  continue  it  in- 
definitely owing  to  the  falling  in  of  the  wtflls.  Consequently  now  the 
blue  diamondiferous  ground  is  worked  by  means  of  underground  shafts. 

First  of  all  it  is  as  well  to  understand  clearly  the  conditions  of 
mining  at  Kimberley,  and  how  the  diamonds  are  found. 


374  KIMBERLEY  AND   THE  DIAMOXD  MIXES. 

The  mines  are  simply  pipes,  bored  up  to  the  surface  while  Mother 
Earth  was  yet  a-boil,  piercing  the  common  shaly  and  basaltic  forma- 
tions of  the  country,  and  filled  with  a  sort  of  blue  cake,  in  which  the 
plums  are  diamonds.  The  half-baked  cake  apparently  simmered  up 
and  down  in  the  pipe  with  enough  pressure  to  crystallize  the  carbon 
in  it,  but  not  to  boil  altogether  over  at  the  top.  Broken  bits  of  the 
case  through  which  it  pushed — "floating  reef"  they  are  called,  were 
imbedded  near  the  top,  which  in  each  mine  was  funnel  shaped.  Be- 
low the  funnel  the  pipe  runs  straight  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
with  but  little  bulging  or  hollowing  of  the  sides.  The  "blue  ground" 
in  which  are  the  plums  is  a  not  very  hard  rock  of  a  dull,  French  gray 
color. 

The  blue  ground  is  blasted  out  from  the  tunnel  and  shafts  and 
conveyed  to  the  surface  by  a  great  skip,  capable  of  hauling  out  9,000 
tons  in  a  day.  At  the  surface  the  precious  "blue"  is  run  in  trucks  by 
an  endless  rope  to  the  drying  grounds,  which  are  some  miles  away 
and  some  square  miles  in  extent.  On  the  "grounds"  the  "blue"  is 
softened  by  the  sun  and  air,  broken  with  picks,  and  then  conveyed 
back  to  begin  that  process  of  reduction  which  magically  transmutes 
each  ton  or  two  of  dull  and  heavy  earth  into  a  tiny  brilliant,  destined, 
perhaps,  to  flash  from  the  forehead  of  an  empress. 

First,  the  ground  goes  into  the  washing  machine — the  primitive 
"cradle"  on  a  large  and  perfected  scale — the  working  of  which  de- 
pends on  the  fact  that  the  high  specific  gravity  of  the  diamond 
makes  it  behave  differently  from  other  stones  under  the  joint  action 
of  centrifugal  force  and  gravitation.  Spun  round  in  perforated  cylin- 
ders and  pans  under  a  whirlpool  of  water,  the  bulk  of  the  ground 
flows  off  in  "tailings"  of  gray  mud.  The  residue  of  divers  stones  of 
divers  sorts  and  sizes  is  then  jogged  about  with  more  water  in  the 
"pulsator."  This  machine  is  a  huge  framework  of  graduated  sieves 
and  runlets,  which  sorts  the  divers  stones  into  several  sizes,  and  after 
much  percolation,  delivers  each  uniform  lot  at  a  separate  receptacle. 
After  the  pulsator  there  remain  a  number  of  "dry-sortings,"  and  re- 
sortings  on  various  tables,  by  hands  both  black  and  white,  all  under 
lynx-eyed  surveillance,  the  pretty  red  garnets  and  other  valueless 
pebbles  being  swept  off  by  dozens  with  a  bit  of  tin,  the  diamonds 


KIMBERL&Y  AMD  THE  DIAMOND  MINES.  375 

dropped  into  a  sort  of  locked  poor  box;  until  finally  the  coveted  hoard, 
all  scrutinized,  classified,  and  valued,  lies  on  the  office  table  of  the  com- 
pany on  its  way  to  their  impregnable  safes. 

The  excitement  of  the  sorting  table  is  one  in  which  the  more  favored 
visitors  may  indulge.  To  sort  the  wet  gravel  with  a  small  piece  of 
metal,  spreading  the  stones  out  on  the  sorting  table  and  picking  out 
the  diamonds  is  a  source  of  never  ending  pleasure  to  the  novice.  It 
seems,  however,  a  great  shame  to  have  to  put  the  diamonds  away  into 
a  tin  as  soon  as  they  are  found.  After  the  wet-sorting,  the  gravel  is 
dry-sorted  by  native  convicts.  A  great  number  of  convicts  are  "rented" 
from  the  Cape  government  and  work  under  strict  supervision  by  armed 
keepers — no  convicts  are  employed  underground. 

At  the  final  sorting  the  sight  in  the  offices  of  De  Beers  makes  dia- 
monds seem  almost  cheap.  Here  are  diamonds  of  every  shape,  and 
size,  and  tint,  from  the  perfect  octahedron,  which  will  lose  but  little 
of  its  bulk  in  the  process  of  cutting,  to  the  irregular  lump  destined, 
unless  of  the  finest  water,  to  be  split  up  into  four,  eight,  or  sixteen 
pieces.  Here  are  stones  from  the  size  of  a  pin's  head  to  that  of  a  wal- 
nut, and  from  the  purest  and  most  limpid  white  to  mantling  yellow  or 
orange.  Here,  again,  is  one  which  has  been  blown  black  indelibly  by 
a  charge  of  dynamite.  Others  are  astonishingly  bright  for  uncut 
stones.  They  have  left  Nature's  hands  so  polished  that  it  is  only  by 
the  addition  of  glancing  facets  that  art  can  better  them.  Then  there 
are  the  "fancy  stones" — blue,  green,  brown,  purple,  puce,  yellow,  red- 
dish and  even  black — for  diamonds  are  of  all  those  tints.  The  black 
ones,  known  as  "boart,"  are  excessively  hard.  Spurned  by  the  beauty, 
these  negro  gems  serve  the  purpose  of  the  mechanic  better  than  bril- 
liants of  the  purest  water. 

The  countless  little  heaps  of  diamonds  reposing  on  white  paper,  in 
severe  rows  equidistant  from  one  another,  remind  one  more  of  the 
heaps  of  sugar  and  other  crystals  set  out  by  children  in  a  game  of 
shops,  than  of  a  possible,  realizable  king's  ransom.  The  output  is  sold 
to  a  syndicate,  which  again  sells  to  the  diamond  dealers.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  control  the  diamond  market  the  De  Beers  Company 
are  able  to  keep  up  the  price  of  diamonds.  Last  year's  work  brought  in 
the  huge  total  of  £3,647,874-13-11  (about  $18,200,000),  which  gave  a 


370  •   KIMBERLEY  AND   THE  DIAMOND  MINES. 

profit  of  £1,777,795-12-8  (about  $5,650,000).  The  average  yield  per  load 
of  the  two  important  mines  was  .80  caret  or  21s.  2d.  (about  $4)  per  load. 

The  De  Beers  Company  affords  yet  two  other  sources  of  interest 
both  to  the  inhabitants  and  to  visitors.  The  former  find  much  delight 
in  the  leafy  arcades  of  the  village  of  Kenilworth,  while  moonlight 
rides  past  the  reservoir  to  the  village  are  a  regular  feature  of  life  in 
Kimberley.  Kenilworth  is  the  model  village  of  De  Beers  and  lies  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  northwest  of  Kiinberley.  It  is  built  en- 
tirely upon  ground  belonging  to  the  company  and  was  designed  to  pro- 
vide residences  for  their  employees.  The  village  is  simply  planned, 
having  four  main  avenues  (two  only  of  which  are  at  present  built  upon) 
bounded  on  the  north  by  an  avenue,  on  the  south  by  the  main  road  to 
Kimberley,  and  intersected  by  a  central  avenue.  The  avenues  are 
broad  and  well  kept,  lined  with  gums,  fir  and  pepper  trees  and  bor- 
dered by  wide  sidewalks  and  gardens  in  front  of  the  semi-detached 
villa-like  residences.  The  prices* of  rental  for  the  villas  or  for  the 
apartments  for  single  men  are  moderate  enough  to  be  within  the 
means  of  any  employee. 

Besides  the  residences  there  is  a  spacious  club  and  the  village  boasts 
its  own  post  and  telegraph  office.  There  is  also  a  school  for  the  child- 
ren, below  the  fifth  standard;  above  this  standard  the  children  attend 
the  regular  Kimberley  schools,  being  conveyed  on  the  trains  free  of 
charge.  The  nurseries  and  orchards  of  the  company  present  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year  a  beautiful  sight  and  reflect  great  credit  upon  those 
placed  in  charge  of  them.  But  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  whole  vil- 
lage, wTith  its  private  gardens,  recreation  grounds,  tennis  courts  and  all 
the  varied  arrangements  for  the  enjoyment  of  outdoor  sport. 

With  all  these  material  advantages,  with  cleanly  surroundings  and 
health  giving  breezes,  Kenilworth  is  deservedly  popular.  The  24 
houses  built  in  1889  have  increased  to  119,  with  a  population  of  about 
five  hundred,  and  at  the  present  time  there  is  not  a  single  house  unlet. 
Such  experiments  are  well  worth  encouraging  and  every  success  should 
lead  to  the  formation  of  similar  institutions  elsewhere. 

To  the  visitor  De  Beers  supplies  the  interest  to  be  derived  from  a 
walk  through  the  native  compounds  attached  to  the  mines.  Here  live 
the  natives  employed  in  the  diamond  works,  shut  off  from  the  world 


KIMBERLEY  AND   THE  DIAMOND  MINES.  %      377 

during  the  time  of  their  contract.  The  great  proportion  of  the  work- 
ers in  the  mines  are  natives  and  one  has  only  to  remember  the  state 
of  affairs  in  Johannesburg  with  its  gold  mines  to  appreciate  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  compound  system.  It. benefits  the  inhabitants  of  Kim- 
berley,  it  benefits  the  company  inasmuch  as  it  prevents  to  a  great 
extent  the  illicit  diamond  buying  and  selling  which  was  once  so  rife, 
and  most  of  all  it  benefits  the  natives  themselves.  They  are  well  housed; 
and  there  are  stores  within  the  compounds,  where  they  can  buy  every 
necessity  and  many  luxuries  with  the  exception  of  intoxicating  liquor, 
which  is  absolutely  prohibited.  A  hospital  is  included  in  each  com- 
pound. If  anyone  doubted  the  happiness  of  the  natives  under  the  re- 
straint that  is  imposed,  a  visit  to  the  compounds  on  a  Sunday  after- 
noon would  convince  him  to  the  contrary.  In  the  largest  compound, 
that  of  De  Beers  or  the  West  End,  covering  four  acres,  there  are  3,750 
natives. 

Altogether  the  diamond  mines  employ  10,340  natives  and  1,860 
Europeans.  This  forms  a  large  proportion  of  a  population  numbering 
28,000. 

The  great  enemy  of  the  diamond  company  is  the  practice  of  illicit 
diamond  buying,  or  I.  D.  B.  Against  this  the  strictest  laws  have  been 
passed  until  now  no  one  is  allowed  to  own  a  rough  unregistered  dia- 
mond in  Kimberley  and  the  finding  of  such  a  stone  is  sufficient  to 
secure  a  prosecution  and  in  many  cases  a  conviction. 

There  is  much  more  that  is  interesting  in  Kimberley,  but  the  best 
summing  up  it  can  have  is  simply  "The  Diamond  Town,  the  dreariest 
and  the  liveliest  town  in  South  Africa."  However  homesick  the  new- 
comer may  be  on  his  arrival  the  saying  in  Kimberley  is:  "Give  him  six 
months  here  and  he  will  never  want  to  leave  the  town."  Happily  for 
the  rest  of  the  world  all  the  visitors  are  not  able  to  stay  six  months  in 
Kimberley. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
OTHER    LEADING    TOWNS. 

SECTION    I.      BLOEMFONTE1N. 

ALTHOUGH  Bloemfontein  has  now  been  the  capital  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  for  many  years  it  has  never  risen  to  be  anything  more 
than  a  quiet  rural  town.     It  has  about  10,000  inhabitants,  7,000  of 
whom  are  whites.     The  town  stands  upon  a  plain  at  an  elevation  of 
4,518  feet,  surrounded  by  low  hills.     The  air  is  dry  and  bracing  and  pre- 
sents special  attractions  to  sufferers  from  pulmonary  complaints.     On 
one  of  the  hills  to  the  south  there  is  a  small  fort,  erected  by  the  British 

Government  in  1846 — it*  is  usually  armed  with  two  maxims  and  is 

• 

scarcely  formidable.  Close  to  the  fort  is  a  small  monument  to  the 
memory  of  those  killed  in  the  Basuto  war  of  1865-68. 

Many  English  live  in  Bloemfontein,  and  the  little  town  is  the  seat 
of  both  Anglican  and  Koman  Catholic  Bishoprics.  The  Anglican  Church 
is  the  second  largest  in  the  town,  arid  has  a  very  good  interior.  The 
Dutch  Eeformed  Church  is  naturally  the  principal  one  and  is  noticeable 
through  possessing  two  spires. 

The  town  is  laid  out  regularly  round  a  large  market  square;  this 
square  is  the  center  of  the  town,  and  here  begin  all  the  principal  streets. 
These  are  wide  and  very  well  kept — they  are  lined  with  trees,  and  these 
have  grown  so  large  that  from  the  neighboring  hills  the  houses  look 
like  little  boats  on  an  ocean  of  green. 

As  capital  of  the  State,  Bloemfontein  is  able  to  boast  the  possession 
of  some  very  creditable  public  buildings.  The  New  Raadzaal  is  a  very 
handsome  building,  with  a  dome-shaped  tower  some  90  feet  high.  The 
interior  is  very  well  arranged,  and  the  principal  chamber  is  equal  to 
any  to  be  found  in  the  Colonies  or  the  American  States.  This  building 
cost  £57,000  (about  $280,000).  The  old  Raadzaal  is  now  used  as  a  law 
court,  and  is  not  nearly  so  handsome  as  the  present  Zaal.  In  front  of 
the  old  Zaal  is  a  statue  of  the  famous  and  noble  President,  J.  H.  Brand 
(1864-1888). 

The  next  most  striking  building  in  the  town  is  the  residence  of  the 

S78 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  379 

President,  which  cost  about  £15,000  (about  $75,000),  and  is  substan- 
tially built  of  stone.  One  of  the  characteristics  of  nearly  all  the  public 
buildings  is  the  happy  combination  of  red  brick  with  a  peculiarly  fine- 
grained white  stone,  quarried  in  the  neighborhood.  On  one  side  of  the 
town  the  villas  have  spread  on  to  the  slope  of  the  hills  and  already 
the  higher  ground  beyond  has  been  laid  out  for  building  purposes. 

The  town  hall,  with  its  large  hall  used  for  concerts,  etc.,  is  not 
striking,  but  the  post  and  telegraph  office  on  the  Market  Square  is  a 
credit  to  the  town.  There  are  also  two  hospitals,  one  of  which  (the 
Government  hospital)  has  accommodation  for  200  patients,  and  the 
other  (the  Old  Cottage  Hospital)  contains  a  ward  erected  in  commemo- 
ration of  the  Diamond  Jubilee  of  Queen  Victoria.  The  well-arranged 
National  Museum  is  contained  in  part  in  one  of  the  first  buildings 
erected  in  the  town.  This  has  been  a  church,  a  raadzaal  and  a  court 
house,  and  was  the  one  in  which  the  British  Convention  was  signed  in 
1854,  which  convention  gave  its  independence  to  an  unwilling  State. 

There  are  several  excellent  educational  institutions  in  Bloemfon- 
tein.  The  Grey  College  (a  handsome  building,  presented  by  Sir  George 
Grey),  and  St.  Andrew's  College  for  boys;  the  Ladies'  Government 
Institute  and  St.  Michael's  Home  for  Girls,  fully  supply  the  needs  of  the 
community. 

The  water  supply  of  the  town  is  obtained  from  a  spring  and  from 
Sannah's  Post,  on  the  Modder  River.  From  the  latter  source  there  have 
been  34  miles  of  pipes  laid,  costing  about  £80,000  (about  $ 384,000).  The 
water  supply  is  a  municipal  enterprise,  as  is  the  electric  lighting  now 
in  process  of  erection. 

In  Bloemfontein  living  is  not  by  any  means  cheap,  although  the 
majority  of  the  inhabitants  live  very  simply.  There  is  scarcely  any 
poverty  and  not  very  much  wealth.  Its  inhabitants  boast  that  it  is  the 
most  idyllic  community  in  South  Africa,  and  it  certainly  is  a  fitting 
capital  for  the  Orange  Free  State,  whose  arms  are  a  lion  and  a  lamb 
standing  on  opposite  sides  of  an  orange  tree,  with  the  motto:  "Freedom, 
Immigration,  Patience,  Courage." 

There  is  an  excellent  club  in  the  town,  besides  which  are  to  be  found 
a  good  cricket  ground,  race  course  and  golf  links.  Bloemfontein  is 
distant  449  3-4  miles  by  rail  from  Port  Elizabeth. 


380  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

SECTION    II.      BULUWAYO. 

A  glance  at  the  map  of  South  Africa  will  show  that  somewhere  in  the 
region  known  as  Rhodesia,  south  of  the  Zambesi,  at  a  point  where  rail- 
ways from  the  far  south  and  the  farther  north  will  meet  with  railways 
from  the  Indian  Ocean  on  the  east  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  west,  a 
great  commercial  center  may  be  expected  to  grow  up.  Some  people 
think  that  Buluwayo  is  going  to  become  the  Chicago  of  Austral  Africa. 

Where  four  or  five  years  ago  stood  the  Royal  Kraal  of  the  Matebele, 
a  flourishing  township  has  arisen  with  a  white  population  of  4,000.  The 
actual  site  of  Buluwayo  is  an  open,  treeless  plain,  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  Eoyal  Kraal,  which  has  been  destroyed  and  replaced  by  Gov- 
ernment House.  The  tree  under  which  Moselekatse  and  Lobengula  used 
to  dispense  judgment  has  been  left  standing.  The  name  of  the  town  is  a 
Zulu  word  meaning  "the  place  of  the  killing,"  and  that  name  will  pre- 
serve forever  the  memory  of  the  horrid  massacres  and  assassinations  in 
which  the  Matebele  rejoiced. 

Buluwayo  is  one  of  the  most  astonishing  towns  in  South  Africa  be- 
cause it  does  not  owe  its  rapid  growth  to  diamonds  or  gold  to  such  an 
extent  as  do  the  two  other  great  towns.  There  is  gold  of  course,  as  there 
are  also  lead,  copper  and  iron  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood.  Then 
again  the  country  is  most  suitable  for  pastoral  pursuits,  and  Buluwayo 
stands  in  what  is  likely  to  be  one  of  the  largest  cattle  and  sheep  districts 
in  the  colonies. 

The  town  is  laid  out  on  the  rectangular  system  round  a  large  square 
— the  streets  run  north  and  south  and  the  avenues  east  and  west.  Both 
the  streets  and  avenues — the  latter  are  called  by  numbers  while  the 
former  have  names — are  broad  and  promise  to  be  very  handsome  when 
the  buildings  are  completed.  But  already  there  are  many  fine  buildings, 
and  it  is  a  great  shock  to  many,  when  they  visit  Buluwayo,  to  find  that  it 
is  not  possible  to  live  as  in  the  wild,  unsettled  country. 

Connecting  Government  House  with  the  town  there  runs  an  avenue 
2,542  yards  long  and  130  feet  wride,  lined  with  trees  along  its  full  length. 
Both  Government  House  and  the  avenue  are  the  property  of  Mr.  Rhodes. 

The  principal  thoroughfare  in  the  town  is  Rhodes  Street,  which  runs 
through  the  center  of  Market  Square.  The  sides  of  the  Square  are 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  381 

formed  by  7th  and  8th  avenues  on  the  north  and  south,  Grey  and  Fife 
streets  on  the  west  and  east.  All  the  principal  public  buildings  are  to 
be  found  near  the  Market  Square. 

There  are  the  public  offices  and  court  house,  the  Stock  Exchange,  the 
postoffice  and  several  banks.  These  are  nearly  all  edifices  which  would 
and  will  do  credit  to  a  much  larger  town; — the  inhabitants  know  that  in 
a  short  time  the  town  will  have  grown  very  much  larger  and  therefore 
have  made  the  public  buildings  much  larger  than  would  seem  necessary 
at  present. 

The  market  house  is  a  substantial  building  of  two  stories,  with  a 
dome  and  lantern,  86  feet  high,  very  well  arranged  and  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity. But  indeed  the  whole  lighting  system  of  Buluwayo  is  admir- 
able, and  having  made  so  good  a  start  it  is  probable  that  Buluwayo  will 
never  suffer  from  underlighting. 

The  hospital  is  erected  on  ground  specially  granted  for  the  purpose, 
and  cost  £6,500  (about  $30,000).  It  is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Major 
Wilson  and  those  who  fell  with  him  at  the  Shangani  River,  on  December 
4,  1893. 

There  are  churches  of  nearly  all  the  principal  religious  bodies,  some 
of  the  edifices  being  very  well  arranged  and  well  built.  In  1898  there 
were  8  schools,  in  which  the  total  attendance  was  424,  of  which  338  were 
white  children. 

To  the  north  of  the  town  are  the  Queen's  Club  Athletic  Grounds  and 
a  little  beyond  is  the  Native  Reserve.  The  native  location  lies  some  dis- 
tance to  the  northwest.  To  the  east  of  the  town  lies  a  valley  through 
which  the  Matsheumhlope  River  runs,  and  beyond  this  is  the  suburban 
township  now  rapidly  being  built  over,  and  the  stands  of  which  com- 
mand a  high  price.  Between  the  two  towns  the  ground  is  laid  out  for  a 
park  and  botanical  gardens. 

Of  course,  there  are  a  race  course  and  several  athletic  clubs  in  the 
town.  Cricket,  golf,  polo  and  lawn  tennis  are  amply  provided  for,  while 
bicycling  is  an  almost  universal  practice. 

Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  Buluwayo  may  be  gained  from  the  fact 
that  in  1897  the  municipal  valuation  was  £1,682,278  (about  $8,240,000), 
while  in  1898  it  had  increased  to  £2,045,000  (about  $10,000,000).  In  the 
former  year  statistics  show  that  of  the  578  houses  in  the  town  more 


382  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

than  half  were  built  of  brick.  This  is  a  wonderful  record  for  so  young  a 
town  and  must  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  excellent  clay  and  lime  are 
found  close  to  the  town. 

Water  supply  and  lighting  reservoirs  and  filter  beds  to  hold  some 
40,000,000  gallons  have  been  constructed  near  the  railway  station. 
There  is  a  fall  of  over  one  hundred  feet,  and  this  is  used  to  provide  the 
electric  power  for  the  lighting  of  the  town.  The  three  lakelets  lie 
amongst  most  picturesque  surroundings  and  are  capable  of  supplying 
6,000  persons  with  10  gallons  per  head  for  18  months.  The  great  diffi- 
culty in  storing  water  here  is  the  impossibility  of  stopping  percolation. 
Water  can  generally  be  obtained  by  sinking  wells  to  a  depth  of  from  20 
to  30  feet, 

Buluwayo  lies  at  a  height  of  4,250  feet  and  is  very  healthy.  From 
May  to  August  the  weather  is  very  cold,  with  southeast  winds;  between 
November  and  March,  25  to  35  inches  of  rain  falls.  The  average  tem- 
perature for  the  six  summer  months  (October-March)  is  about  72  deg.  F. 
and  of  the  winter  months  about  64  deg.  F.  Dust  storms  are  frequently 
troublesome. 

A  colossal  statue  of  Mr.  Ehodes  is  to  be  erected  in  Buluwayo  and  the 
pedestal  is  to  be  ornamented  with  a  bas-relief  of  Major  Wilson  and  his 
comrades,  the  names  being  given  of  the  different  troopers  who  fell  with 
him.  The  total  cost  will  be  £3,000  (about  f  15,000)  and  the  statue  is  being 
made  in  England. 

Buluwayo  is  by  no  means  a  cheap  place  to  live  in.  It  is  difficult 
to  live  for  much  less  than  £20  (about  $100)  a  month,  though  after  the 
war  it  is  probable  that  the  prices  will  be  higher  for  some  time. 

The  town  is  situated  on  the  Cape  to  Cairo  Railway,  and  lies  1,361 
miles  from  Cape  Town  by  train;  713  miles  from  Kimberley;  490  from 
Mafeking;  1,199  from  Port  Elizabeth;  1,260  from  East  London;  1,109 
from  Bloemfontein.  From  Johannesburg,  by  train,  it  is  1,373  miles; 
but  on  Congo  by  coach  or  to  Mafeking,  144  miles;  and  thence  it  is  512 
miles  by  train  to  Buluwayo.  Coaches  used  also  to  run  from  Johannes- 
burg, through  the  Zoutspanberg  district  to  Tuli,  and  thence  to  Bulu- 
wayo. 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  383 

SECTION   III.     DURBAN. 

The  town  of  Durban  is  the  largest  in  Natal  and  differs  from 
the  capital,  Pietermaritzburg,  in  that  it  was  founded  by  the  British 
(in  1835),  not  by  the  Boers.  Its  name  it  bears  in  honor  of  Sir  Benjamin 
D'Urban,  one  of  the  most  able  Governors  of  the  Cape  Colony.  Origi- 
nally it  was  known  as  Port  Natal,  which  name  it  received  from  the  great 
Vasco  da  Gama,  who  visited  it  on  Christmas  Day  in  1497, — he  gave  it 
the  name  in  honor  of  the  nativity  of  our  Savior. 

Durban  is  one  of  the  most  important  ports  of  South  Africa,  and, 
though  the  railway  distance  to  the  Gold  Mines  of  Johannesburg  is 
greater  than  from  Delagoa  Bay,  merchants  prefer  to  ship  their  goods 
via  Durban  rather  than  trust  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Portuguese. 
Any  success  that  Durban  may  achieve  as  a  port  is  owed  almost  entirely 
to  the  Hon.  Harry  Escombe,  once  Prime  Minister  of  the  Colony.  He  has 
devoted  his  life  to  the  work  of  removing  the  bar  and  artificially  con- 
structing an  entrance  to  the  harbor.  That  he  has  succeeded  may  be 
shown  by  the  fact  that  during  the  present  war  the  troopships  are  able 
to  steam  into  the  harbor,  over  a  bar  which  used  once  to  have  only  11 
or  12  feet  of  water  covering  it.  Mr.  Escombe  looks  forward  confidently 
to  the  time  when  there  shall  be  30  feet  of  water  on  the  bar  at  high 
tide. 

The  channel  is  kept  well  defined  and  clear  from  silting  sand  by  two 
breakwaters,  the  northern  one,  2,900  feet  long,  and  the  southern  2,550 
feet.  This  latter  breakwater  runs  out  from  under  the  Bluff,  a  head- 
land some  220  feet  above  the  sea  level,  on  which  is  situated  the  light- 
house. Here  are  also  to  be  found  two  batteries  of  garrison  artillery, 
considered  capable  of  defending  the  harbor  mouth.  After  passing 
through  the  quarter-mile  wide  channel  the  ships  enter  into  the  land- 
locked bay,  which  has  an  area  of  7^  square  miles  of  open  water.  This 
bay  is,  however,  very  shallow,  except  near  the  mouth,  where  are  the 
wharves,  fringing  the  northern  spit  of  land — opposite  the  Bluff — known 
as  "The  Point."  There  is  a  fine  new  quay  of  dressed  stone,  500  feet  in 
length,  as  well  as  the  old  timber  structure,  1,800  feet  in  length.  Besides 
these  there  is  St.  Paul's  Wharf,  used  by  the  sailing  ships.  All  these 
wharves  are  connected  with  the  railway  line,  and  thus  the  work  of 


384  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

discharging  cargo  is  carried  on  very  quickly.  The  electric  light  enables 
work  to  be  continued  during  the  night  when  necessary.  The  wrork  of 
loading  and  unloading  is  done  by  about  1,000  natives  and  200  whites- 
no  Indians  do  any  of  this  work. 

The  business  town  of  Durban  lies  on  the  plain  between  the  bay, 
the  Berea  and  the  sea;  the  residential  portion  is  mainly,  situated  on 
the  hill  behind  the  town,  known  as  the  Berea.  This  hill  received  its 
name  from  a  missionary  settlement,  which  was  -there  in  the  early  days 
and  which  was  called  after  the  Berea  mentioned  in  Acts  XVII.,  10:11. 

Durban  is  a  notable  contrast  to  many  of  the  other  South  African 
towns  in  that  it  bears  plain  evidence  of  the  fact  that  its  citizens  take  a 
pride  and  an  interest  in  their  home.  It  is  tidy  to  a  wonderful  degree, 
and,  though  the  town  itself  cannot  be  called  beautiful,  yet  the  Berea 
is  wonderfully  gay  with  flowering  trees  and  brilliant  garden  patches. 
The  roads  are  hard  and  smooth,  a  state  of  things  which  is  a  great 
relief  to  anyone  who  has  had  experience  of  other  roads.  Of  course  the 
fact  that  so  much  of  the  traffic  is  done  in  rickshas  explains  to  a  great 
extent  the  excellence  of  the  roads.  The  rickshas  in  Durban  are  much 
larger  and  more  comfortable  than  the  average  Japanese  ones,  while  it 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  striking  contrast  than  that  between 
the  stalwart  big  Zulu  ricksha  boy  of  Durban  and  the  little  coolie  of 
Japan.  The  Durban  ricksha  men  have  to  w-ear  a  certain  amount  of 
clothing  by  the  police  regulations,  but  they  indulge  in  a  great  amount 
of  extra  ornamentation,  calculated  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
public.  It  is  very  quaint  to  see  the  Zulus  prancing  about  and  generally 
making  a  great  display  of  friskiness  in  order  to  get  a  fare. 

The  streets  of  the  town  are  laid  dowrn  at  right  angles,  and  the  three 
principal  thoroughfares  are  lined  with  substantial  stores,  hotels  and 
public  buildings.  The  buildings  in  Durban  are  built  well  and  in  good 
taste,  and  there  is  none  of  that  crude  unflnishedness  so  very  noticeable 
in  Johannesburg. 

A  very  fine  tram  system  serves  the  town  and  its  suburbs.  Starting 
from  The  Point  the  line  traverses  West  Street  from  end  to  end,  then 
passes  along  Florida  Road,  and,  crossing  over  the  railway,  it  mounts 
the  Berea  Hill.  Up  this  slope  the  trams  run,  under  trees  and  past  beau- 
tiful flowering  and  sweet-scented  shrubs.  The  line  does  not  run  on  the 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  385 

road,  but  has  a  special  track  at  the  side.  After  reaching  the  summit 
of  the  Berea,  the  trams  run  along  the  brow  of  the  Hill.  The  trams  are 
drawn  by  horses,  indeed  it  would  be  a  pity  to  spoil  the  town  by  intro- 
ducing any  other  method  of  traction — unless  it  were  electricity.  Every- 
body uses  the  trams  in  Durban,  though  the  ricksha  charge  for  a  short 
distance  is  only  3d — "a  tickey."  There  are  no  cabs;  if  there  be  much 
luggage  a  series  of  rickshas  are  engaged  and  follow  in  procession. 

The  Berea  is  one  of  the  prettiest  places  in  South  Africa.  Its  pictur- 
esque villas,  nestling  amongst  a  wealth  of  trees  and  flowering  shrubs, 
command  charming  views  down  to  the  Bay,  the  sea  and  the  Bluff. 
It  is  also  remarkable  as  having  been  used  in  one  of  the  first  experiments 
at  municipal  socialism. 

The  municipality  bought  the  land,  and  by  selling  or  leasing  it  in 
lots  as  the  values  increased,  has  secured  a  revenue  which  keeps  local 
taxation  very  low  and  enables  many  improvements  and  enterprises  to 
be  entered  upon. 

Durban  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  best  managed  and  the  most 
self-respecting  town  in  South  Africa. 

One  of  the  things  which  causes  most  pride  to  the  citizens  of  Durban 
is  their  town  hall.  This  stands  in  West  Street,  facing  some  public  gar- 
dens, and  is,  therefore,  not  too  closely  enclosed  to  allow  of  a  full  display 
of  its  fine  effect.  The  town  hall  was  completed  in  1885,  at  a  cost  of 
£50,252,  and  in  1894  a  fine  organ  wras  erected  in  the  main  hall  by  the 
corporation.  There  used  to  be  great  rivalry  between  the  organists  of 
the  Durban  and  Pietermaritzburg  town  halls  as  to  the  relative  worth 
of  their  instruments.  Since  the  town  hall  at  the  latter  place  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  organ  and  all,  the  Durban  organ  has  now  no  rival  in 
South  Africa.  Certainly  one  of  the  features  of  the  town  is  the  excel- 
lent use  to  which  the  organ  is  turned  to  account.  There  are  regular 
free  organ  recitals,  and  numerous  musical  works  are  given  during  each 
year  by  a  capable  choral  society,  trained  and  conducted  by  the  organist. 

The  botanical  gardens  of  Durban  are  very  well  laid  out  and  very 
well  kept.  Indeed  they  would  do  credit  to  a  much  larger  town  than 
even  the  largest  town  in  Natal. 

The  observatory  is  situated  on  the  upper  slope  of  the  Berea,  im- 
mediately above  the  botanical  gardens,  at  a  height  of  260  feet  above 


386  OTHER  LEADING  TOW  MS, 

the  sea.  Originally  founded  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Escombe  and 
some  other  citizens,  in  1883  the  institution  was  taken  over  by  the  Natal 
Government.  Some  excellent  observation  work  has  been  done  at  this 
observatory. 

One  of  the  most  striking  things  in  Durban  is  the  number  of  Indian 
coolies  and  merchants.  It  gives  quite  an  eastern  air  to  the  town  at 
the  first  glance,  but  Durban  is  too  English  to  allow  even  40,000  Indians 
to  make  it  more  eastern.  Indeed,  so  frightened  are  the  Natalians  of  the 
power  of  the  Indians,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult  for  an  Indian  to 
obtain  the  franchise.  These  brown  Uitlanders,  however  wealthy  and 
respectable  they  may  be,  have  very  little  chance  of  obtaining  the  fran- 
chise after  any  number  of  years — in  fact,  when  they  do  obtain  it,  it  is 
as  a  favor,  not  as  a  right. 

In  1897  the  citizens  of  Durban  became  seriously  alarmed  at  the 
intelligence  that  many  shiploads  of  Indians  were  coming  to  Natal, 
driven  a* way  from  home  by  the  famine.  Protests  were  made,  and,  finally, 
on  the  arrival  of  one  ship,  the  Durban  people  lined  the  quays  and 
refused  to  allow  the  Indians  to  land.  Eventually  the  Indians  were 
allowed  to  enter  Durban,  but  now  an  act  has  been  passed  by  which  all 
immigrants  may  be  excluded  who  cannot  write  in  European  characters 
a  letter  applying  to  be  exempted  from  the  provisions  of  the  law.  What- 
ever may  be  their  wrongs  and  their  dangers,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
they  add  a  great  deal  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  town. 

The  climate  of  Durban  in  winter,  the  dry  season,  is  delightful,  but 
in  the  hot,  wet  season  it  becomes  rather  oppressive.  The  average  annual 
temperature  is  69°  to  70°,  and  the  rainfall  40  inches  per  annum.  On 
occasion,  however,  it  can  be  very  hot  indeed  in  Durban  when  the  tem- 
perature will  stand  at  109°  in  the  coolest  shade,  while  in  the  sun  155° 
will  be  registered.  Despite  the  nearness  to  the  sea,  it  is  possible  to 
ride  and  walk,  even  in  the  immense  heat  of  109°  in  the  shade,  without 
feeling  the  effects  seriously.  The  moistness  in  the  air  induces  perspira- 
tion; in  Durban  the  nights  are  not  cool  as  they  are  in  the  higher  lying 
portions  of  South  Africa. 

The  native  policemen  of  Durban  are  a  curious  sight,  but  have  a 
great  opinion  of  themselves,  and  are  a  very  fine  set  of  men.  There  is, 
however,  something  very  curious  and  quaint  in  seeing  a  man  fully- 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  387 

equipped  in  the  police  garments  down  to  the  knee,  then  bare  legs  and 
feet.  The  policemen  carry  knobkerries  and  keep  remarkably  good 
order. 

To  the  west  of  Durban,  behind  the  Berea,  are  the  park-like  slopes 
and  hills  of  Durban  County.  To  the  north,  the  more  open  country  of 
Victoria  County,  covered  with  the  brilliant  green  sugarcane  fields,  and 
the  bold  bluffs  of  the  Inanda  Kange  are  visible. 

Durban  has  a  great  future  before  it,  and  a  very  pleasant  present. 

SECTION    IV.     GRAHAMSTOWN. 

Grahamstown  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  most  English  town 
in  South  Africa.  It  is  the  metropolis  of  the  Eastern  Provinces  and  lies 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Zuurberg  Mountains,  near  the  source  of  the  Kowie 
Eivers.  It  is  situated  at  a  height  of  1,741  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  may  be  reached  by  rail  from  Port  Elizabeth  in  9  34  hours. 
The  population  of  10,436  contains  6,271  whites. 

The  town  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  Colony,  as  it  was  founded  in 
1812.  It  became  a  military  station  in  1819,  and  next  year  was  selected 
by  the  colonists  as  their  rallying  place  in  the  event  of  native  troubles. 
In  1819  an  attempt  was  made  by  a  Kaffir  chief,  with  10,000  warriors, 
to  surprise  the  town,  but  the  garrison  of  320  men  drove  them  back,  with 
great  loss.  In  1834,  1846  and  1864  the  wars  between  the  colonists  and 
the  Kaffirs  raged  round  Grahamstown,  so  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  any  kopje  or  valley  which  has  not  witnessed  some  struggle  be- 
tween white  and  black. 

Grahamstown  is  the  seat  of  two  Bishoprics,  the  Anglican  and  the 
Roman  Catholic,  both  of  which  have  a  cathedral  in  the  town.  The 
superintendency  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  body  is  also  located  at 
'  Grahamstown.  The  public  buildings  are  substantial,  but  have  no  claim 
to  architectural  merit.  The  town  hall  is  in  the  Gothic  style  and  is 
situated  in  High  Street,  the  principal  thoroughfare.  It  was  completed 
in  1882,  at  a  cost  of  £18,000  (about  $90,000).  A  square  clock  tower, 
projecting  on  arches  over  the  pavement,  commemorates  the  early  strug- 
gles of  the  settlers  with  the  natives.  The  Eastern  District  Court  House 
is  also  in  High  Street ;  it  is  in  Grecian  style,  and  presents  a  rather  top- 
heavy  appearance.  There  are  three  resident  judges.  The  possession 


USX  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

of  the  two  Bishoprics  and  the  fact  that  it  is  the  seat  of  the  law  courts 
of  the  Eastern  Provinces  gives  a  very  much  higher  tone  to  the  society 
of  the  town  than  is  often  found  in  South  African  towns. 

Grahamstown  is  one  of  the  principal  educational  centers  of  South 
Africa.  In  addition  to  St.  Andrew's  College,  founded  in  1885,  there 
are  the  public  school,  St.  Aidan's  College  (Roman  Catholic),  and  the 
Cathedral  Grammar  School,  all  for  boys;  with  the  Diocesan  College, 
the  Wesleyan  High  School  (erected  at  a  cost  of  £10,000,  or  about  f  50,- 
000),  and  the  Convent  School,  for  girls. 

The  streets  of  Grahamstown  run  regularly  and  are  wide  and  lined 
with  trees.  While  not  possessing  any  very  special  attractions,  there 
are  many  features  in  favor  of  the  town  as  a  place  of  residence.  Living 
is  cheap  and  good.  The  agricultural  population  are  the  most  progres- 
sive in  Cape  Colony;  as  regards  dairy  produce,  Grahamstown  is  one 
of  the  few  places  in  the  Colony  where  cheese  is  made.  The  water  supply 
is  excellent  and  is  laid  on  to  the  houses  in  pipes.  The  surrounding  hills 
are  well  wooded  and  afford  opportunities  for  pleasant  drives  and  rides. 
The  climate  is  very  highly  recommended,  though  the  rainfall  is  too 
evenly  distributed  throughout  the  year  to  render  it  suitable  for  phthisi- 
cal patients. 

The  botanical  gardens  are  approached  from  the  High  Street,  through 
the  old  Drostdy  or  Court  House,  which  is  now  used  for  military  pur- 
poses— Grahamstown  being  a  garrison  town.  Parliament  sat  in  this 
building  in  1864.  The  gardens,  which  are  considered  the  finest  in  South 
Africa,  cover  100  acres  and  are  well  irrigated,  and  the  natural  beauty  of 
the  valley  in  which  they  are  placed  has  not  been  destroyed. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  the  town  is,  however,  the  Bacterio- 
logical Institute,  which  is  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Alexander  Edding- 
ton,  formerly  first  principal  medical  officer  in  Cape  Colony.  The  insti- 
tute is  one  of  the  largest  and  probably  the  most  complete  in  the  world, 
and  is  subsidized  by  all  the  South  African  States,  including  the  Trans- 
vaal and  the  Orange  Free  State. 

The  primary  reason  for  which  it  was  established  was  that  of  making 
investigations  into  the  diseases  peculiar  to  South  Africa,  and  elaborate 
researches  have  been  made  into  "horse-sickness,"  with  a  view  to  discover 
a  vaccine.  Dr.  Koch  used  the  laboratory  of  the  institute  for  his  re- 


A    BOER    SCOUT 

The  Boer  Is  trained  to  a  mode  of  warfare  in  which  scouting  on  swift  horses  is  a  prominent  feature. 
He  carries  his  belt  of  cartridges,  and  a  water  bottle  over  his  shoulder,  and  wears  his  wide-brimmed 
hat.  The  rope  round  the  horse's  neck  is  used  for  knee-haltering,  which  allows  the  horse  to  move 
slowly  about,  browsing  on  the  grass  during  a  time  of  rest. 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  391 

searches  into  the  nature  of  rinderpest  in  1896-7.  Despite  the  general 
indifference  on  the  part  of  the  public  the  institute  has  made  extraor- 
dinary progress  and  has  been  a  marked  commercial  success.  From  its 
laboratories  vaccine  and  other  serums  are  made  and  supplied  in  their 
purest  forms. 

SECTION    V.      PORT   ELIZABETH. 

Port  Elizabeth  is  the  geographical  capital  of  Cape  Colony,  while 
Cape  Town  is  the  historical.  It  is  the  second  city  of  the  Colony  in 
importance,  with  a  white  population  of  13,000,  besides  the  natives,  who 
number  12,000. 

In  1820  a  large  body  of  emigrants  was  landed  in  Algoa  Bay,  on 
the  shores  of  which  Port  Elizabeth  now  stands.  At  that  time  there 
were  only  a  few  houses  clustered  around  the  little  Block  House.  The 
town  was  laid  out  by  order  of  Sir  Rufane  Donkin,  Acting  Governor, 
and  he  erected  a  stone  monument  on  the  hill  above  in  memory  of  his 
deceased  wife,  Lady  Elizabeth — "one  of  the  most  perfect  of  human  be- 
ings, who  has  given  her  name  to  the  town  below."  Since  1820  the  town 
has  grown  very  steadily  and  has  earned  the  title  of  the  Liverpool  of 
South  Africa.  The  custom  dues  received  during  the  18  years  ending 
1896  reach  the  sum  of  £9,567,082  (about  $47,275,000),  as  compared  with 
£7,482,798  (about  137,665,000)  received  at  Cape  Town. 

The  town  does  not  yet  possess  a  real  harbor  and  ships  have  to 
anchor  in  the  bay;  the  anchorage  affords  good  holding  ground  and  is 
sheltered  from  all  winds  but  those  blowing  from  the  southeast.  These 
are,  however,  the  most  dangerous  of  all,  and  it  is  often  extremely  dif- 
ficult for  the  tugs  and  lighters  to  pass  between  the  ships  and  the  jetties. 
At  present  all  the  harbor  accommodation  consists  of  two  wrought-iron 
jetties,  840  and  1,152  feet  long,  costing,  with  their  equipment,  some 
£250,000  (about  $1,225,000).  They  are  lit  by  electric  light,  and  are  well 
furnished  with  cranes.  In  1856  a  breakwater  was  commenced  and  car- 
ried out  for  1,700  feet;  it  had,  however,  to  be  removed  in  1869,  as  the 
harbor  had  been  rendered  useless  by  the  silting  up  of  the  sand.  In  1897 
a  scheme  was  prepared  by  which  it  was  proposed  to  construct  a  shel- 
tered harbor,  at  a  cost  of  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  million  pounds 
sterling  (from  $10,000,000  to  $15,000,000.)  This,  however,  has  not  yet 
been  commenced,  and  all  the  work  is  carried  on  at  the  jetties  which  are 


392  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

connected  with  the  railway.  Vessels  drawing  20  feet  can  lie  alongside 
the  jetty  during  favorable  weather;  statistics  show  that  this  occurs  on 
four  days  and  five  nights  out  of  six. 

Viewed  from  the  bay,  or  even  from  the  north  jetty,  Port  Elizabeth 
presents  a  rather  dusty  and  colorless  appearance,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  trees  and  the  sandy  hills  on  either  side.  The  town  lies  at  the  foot, 
on  the  slope  and  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  The  slope  is  so  steep  that  steps 
often  take  the  place  of  roads,  and  the  houses  rise  one  behind  the  other, 
the  ones  in  front  not  in  any  way  impeding  the  view  of  those  higher  up. 

Electric  trams  run  from  the  Market  Square  down  Main  Street  to 
North  End  Park,  a  distance  of  two  and  one-half  miles,  and  another  line 
runs  up  the  hill.  The  total  length  of  the  electric  tramway  is  twelve 
miles,  and  the  fare  unit  is  3d  (6c). 

On  entering  the  town  from  the  north  jetty  the  railway  station,  a 
substantial  white  stone  structure,  is  the  first  building  on  the  right;  on 
the  left  are  the  new  harbor  buildings  and  tlie  custom  house.  Jetty 
Street  leads  into  Market  Square,  which  is  the  center  of  the  town,  and 
round  which  the  principal  buildings  are  clustered.  By  far  the  most 
striking  building  in  Port  Elizabeth  is  the  town  hall,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  square.  It  is  built  in  the  renaissance  style,  at  a  cost  of  £26,000 
(about  $128,000),  and  has  a  fine  clock  tower.  Besides  the  public  offices 
it  contains  a  public  library  of  25,000  volumes,  which,  although  not  the 
largest,  is  the  most  perfectly  arranged  in  South  Africa.  This  library 
is  to  be  transferred  to  a  special  building.  In  front  of  the  town  hall  are 
the  post  and  telegraph  offices — a  new  postoffice  is  being  erected  at  a 
cost  of  £75,000  (about  $367,000). 

The  market  buildings  occupy  a  conspicuous  position  on  the  square. 
The  site  for  these  buildings  had  to  be  literally  excavated  from  the  side 
of  the  hill,  and  this  is  the  principal  cause  for  the  heavy  cost  of  construc- 
tion (£70,000,  about  $343,000).  Some  idea  of  its  size  may  be  gained  when 
one  learns  that  the  Feather  Market  Hall  will  seat  5,000  people.  Besides 
this  hall  there  are  the  Fruit  Market  and  Wool  Market  Halls. 

Main  Street  is  the  principal  thoroughfare  of  Port  Elizabeth,  and 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  Colony.  The  end  near  the  Market  Square  is 
particularly  fine  and  contains  some  very  handsome  buildings.  The  fur- 
ther away  from  the  square  the  road  runs  the  worse  the  houses  become, 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  393 

until  nobody  could,  with  truth,  praise  it.  Strand  Street,  below  Main 
Street,  has  been  improved  recently  and  now  contains  some  handsome 
offices. 

The  upper  part  of  the  town,  known  as  "The  Hill,"  a  flat  tableland 
overlooking  the  sea,  is  composed  of  villas,  and  is  best  approached  by 
White's  Road,  leading  from  Market  Square  to  St.  George's  Park.  There 
are  numberless  churches  in  Port  Elizabeth,  both  for  whites  and  for 
natives.  There'  is  also  one  hospital,  the  Provincial,  known  as  one  of  the 
best  conducted  in  South  Africa. 

St.  George's  Park  is  well  laid  out,  with  shady  avenues,  lawns  and 
conservatories,  and  is  all  the  more  interesting  because  of  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  soil  had  to  be  carted  to  the  spot.  Adjoining  the  park  there 
are  cricket  and  tennis  grounds.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  Port 
Elizabeth  has  been  the  pioneer  of  tennis  tournaments  in  South  Africa, 
and  that  the  championship  meetings  are  still  held  there  each  year. 

On  the  north  of  the  town  is  Prince  Alfred  Park,  close  to  which  are 
the  golf  links.  The  south  end  of  the  town  is  divided  from  "The  Hill" 
by  "The  Valley,"  formed  by  Baaken's  River. 

Apart  from  the  town,  on  the  east  side,  are  to  be  found  the  native 
locations.  It  is  impossible  to  find  anything  which  cannot  be  utilized 
in  the  making  of  the  dwellings  in  the  location.  Of  course  corrugated 
iron  forms  a  large  part  of  the  building  material,  but  everything  else 
seems  to  find  its  place.  For  absolute  ragged  untidiness  the  native 
locations  of  Port  Elizabeth  beat  even  the  wildest  and  newest  alluvial 
mining  camp.  The  iron,  rusty  in  parts,  and  pierced  and  battered,  has 
to  be  rendered  water  and  wind  proof  by  paper,  by  rags,  or,  in  fact, 
by  anything  handy.  The  one  redeeming  feature  of  the  native  location 
is  that  it  commands  a  magnificent  view  over  the  bay  and  its  shipping 
(548  vessels  entered  the  port  in  1898,  with  a  tonnage  of  1,802,541).  It 
is  unfortunate  that  the  natives  do  not  feel  so  happy  in  the  possession 
of  the  view  as  they  would  do  if  someone  offered  them  a  piece  of  corru- 
gated iron  without  a  hole  in  it.  However,  it  must  be  said  that  it  is 
only  the  poorer  natives  whose  dwellings  are  so  raggedly  put  together. 

The  water  supply  of  the  town,  brought  27  miles  from  Van  Staadens 
River,  is  excellent,  and  has  been  the  means  of  greatly  improving  the 
town.  The  dam  holds  about  30,000,000  gallons,  and  the  daily  capacity 


394  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

is  about  600,000  gallons.  The  surrounding  country  is  flat,  sandy  and 
not  particularly  attractive. 

When  the  railway,  running  along  the  coast  from  Cape  Town  to  Port 
Elizabeth,  is  completed  it  will  be  of  great  advantage  to  both  towns, 
opening  up  the  intervening  rich,  fertile  country,  well  fitted  for  fruit 
growing  and  agriculture. 

The  principal  distances  by  rail  from  Port  Elizabeth  are:  Kimberley, 
485  miles;  Bulawayo,  1,199;  Bloemfontein,  449;  Johannesburg,  714; 
Cape  Town,  839  (by  sea,  436  miles). 

That  Port  Elizabeth  has  a  very  great  future  before  it  cannot  be 
predicted,  as  it  is  probable -that  it  will  always  be  more  of  a  forwarding 
station  than  a  metropolis.  That  it  will,  however,  become  an  important 
shipping  place  there  is  no  doubt  whatever. 

SECTION   VI.     PRETORIA. 

The  fact  that  Pretoria  is  the  recognized  capital  of  the  Transvaal 
lends  it  an  interest  which  it  would  not  otherwise  possess.  In  reality, 
however,  Pretoria  is  not  the  capital,  for,  by  the  first  article  of  the 
Grondwet,  Lydenburg  is  named  the  capital.  This  Grondwet  was  re- 
vised in  1898,  but  the  first  article  still  stands.  However,  it  makes  very 
little  difference  since  Pretoria  has  been  the  seat  of  Government  since 
1863. 

The  town,  while  lying  4,700  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  sur- 
rounded by  hills,  especially  in  the  direction  of  Johannesburg,  which  is 
40  miles  distant.  Seen  from  one  of  the  surrounding  hills,  Pretoria  looks 
extremely  well,  owing  to  the  number  of  trees  fringing  the  streets  and 
g  owing  in  the  gardens.  There  are  one  or  two  exceedingly  picturesque 
blue  gum  and  willow  avenues,  while  there  are  many  rose  gardens  dotted 
here  and  there  through  the  town. 

The  present  population  of  Pretoria  is  about  12,000,  of  which  8,000 
are  whites.  The  town  is  very  quiet  and  appears  more  so  than  it  really 
is,  from  its  close  proximity  to  Johannesburg. 

The  main  feature  in  Pretoria  is  the  huge  open  space  known  as 
Church  Square.  The  fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the  surrounding 
houses  are  not  very  tall  makes  the  square  appear  really  bigger  than  it 
is.  On  this  square  are  situated  the  Raadzaal  and  the  new  government 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  395 

offices.  The  center  is  occupied  by  a  dreadfully  ugly  Dutch  church, 
which  deserves  nothing  better  than  to  be  pulled  down  and  destroyed 
utterly.  The  Kaadzaal,  which  contains  many  of  the  Government  of- 
fices as  well  as  the  two  chambers  of  the  legislature,  is  said  to  have  cost 
£200,000.  One  curious  story  is  related  about  the  building  of  this  Zaal. 
Having  been  originally  planned  to  reach  a  certain  height,  it  was  altered 
when  someone  suddenly  discovered  that  the  Parliament  House  of  the 
Republic  would  be  one  story  lower  than  the  big  hotel  next  door.  That 
of  course  could  not  be  endured;  one  more  story  wras  added  to  the  plan. 
Strange  to  say,  the  change  was  so  well  managed  that  experts  declare  it 
to  be  one  of  the  few  cases  where  the  extension  of  an  original  design  has 
produced  an  artistic  result.  The  Raadzaal  certainly  is  a  most  imposing 
structure,  and  does  credit  to  the  prestige  and  ambition  of  the  burghers. 

Pretoria  has  not  grown  much  since  it  was  made  the  capital,  but 
still  remains  quiet  and  sleepy.  The  hills  which  surround  it  are,,  alas! 
now  crowned  with  forts.  These  are  placed  on  sites  chosen  by  British 
officers  while  the  Transvaal  was  in  the  hands  of  the  British. 

The  streets  are  wide  and  not  cared  for;  the  traffic  is  so  small  that 
they  seldom  need  repairing,  and  still  more  seldom  get  it.  After  a  rain 
the  mud  is  quite  appalling,  and  to  add  to  the  general  misery  the  little 
streams  which  run  down  the  sides  of  many  of  the  streets  overflow  and 
make  the  crossing  of  a  road  a  hazardous  and  unpleasant  proceeding. 

Even  after  the  Raid  the  feeling  against  the  British  was  much  less 
marked  in  Pretoria  than  in  Johannesburg.  After  the  Gold  town,  the 
Capital  comes  as  a  relief,  and  has  a  very  English  aspect.  There  are 
many  English  residents  and  their  influence  is  considerable.  To  prop- 
erly appreciate  the  extent  to  which  English  is  spoken  and  read,  it  may 
be  of  interest  to  note  that  there  are  two  English  papers  published  in 
the  town,  one  bi-weekly,  with  a  circulation  of  2,000  copies  an  issue, 
and  the  other  weekly. 

The  main  interests  in  Pretoria  center  round  the  Legislative  Cham- 
bers and  the  Law  Courts.  In  the  latter  there  is  never  any  lack  of  work, 
because  the  gold  fields  of  the  Rand  ensure  endless  litigation.  There  are 
very  many  lawyers  in  Pretoria,  and  one  whole  street,  known  as  Das- 
vogelsnest  (Vulture's  Nest),  is  filled  with  their  offices.  Many  of  these 
lawyers  are  British  colonists,  and  nearly  all  have  been  in  England  to 


396  OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS. 

receive  their  training.  This  legal  element  forms  the  most  cultivated 
and  leading  section  of  society — not  but  that  the  leading  Dutch  families 
also  supply  well-educated  representatives  from  their  younger  genera- 
tion. 

The  room  in  which  the  First  Volksraad  meets  is  a  spacious  chamber, 
having  the  national  colors  hanging  across  the  ceiling.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Chairman  there  is  a  chair  for  the 
President  of  the  Republic,  while  the  Executive  Council  and  the  heads  of 
Administration  sit  to  the  right  and  left  below — there  being  five  of  each. 
None  of  these  eleven  is  a  member  of  the  Raad,  but  they  all  have  the  right 
to  assist  in  its  work.  The  President  has  the  right  of  speaking  as  often 
as  he  likes;  of  this  privilege  he  avails  himself  very  often,  rising  and 
replying  to  each  member  at  the  end  of  his  remarks.  He  becomes  very 
indignant  at  opposition,  and  when  aroused  pours  forth  his  ideas  so  fast 
as  almost  to  render  himself  unintelligible.  He  never  prepares  his 
speeches,  but  simply  takes  up  the  subject  of  the  moment  on  which  he 
urges  his  view  with  all  his  might. 

When  the  President  drives  up  to  the  entrance  he  is  escorted  by 
mounted  troopers  and  on  some  occasions  at  any  rate  he  is  accompanied 
by  two  troopers  as  he  passes  through  the  corridors  to  his  room  in  the 
Volksraad  building. 

The  behavior  of  the  members  is  not  dignified, — but  then  it  would  be 
hard  to  find  a  house  of  Parliament  where  it  is.  Smoking  is  allowed  and 
is  much  indulged  in,  while  some  practical  joking  is  carried  on  to  the 
general  interest  of  the  rest  of  the  members.  But  taken  as  a  whole  and 
considering  the  various  absolutely  different  types  of  mcH  amongst  the 
representatives,  the  chamber  is  conducted  very  creditably.  Each  mem- 
ber has  a  desk  and  a  seat  to  himself  and  there  is  ample  room, — indeed 
the  actually  occupied  space  does  not  cover  much  more  than  half  the 
floor. 

A  large  portrait  of  President  Kruger  hangs  in  the  Raadzaal. 

The  Second  Volksraad  is  really  of  no  account  and  can  only  submit 
suggestions  on  certain  industrial  and  commercial  matters  to  the  First 
Volksraad,  which  suggestions  are  generally  disregarded. 

The  President  lives  in  a  long,  low  cottage,  with  the  usual  wide  stoep. 
The  reception  rooms  are  large  but  not  luxuriously  furnished.  The  Presi- 


OTHER  LEADING  TOWNS.  397 

dent  scarcely  ever  stirs  from  his  house,  taking  very  little  exercise.  There 
is  now  always  a  guard  of  two  soldiers  at  the  garden  gate,  though  for- 
merly there  used  to  be  no  precautions  taken.  Directly  opposite  the 
President's  house  is  the  church  of  the  Dopper  sect  where  Kruger  occa- 
sionally preaches.  The  name  Dopper  means  "dipper"  or  Baptist. 

The  railway  station  at  Pretoria  is  very  primitive  and  lies  a  good  dis- 
tance from  the  center  of  the  town.  There  are  many  very  comfortable 
and  even  fine  private  residences;  while  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  have  a 
substantial  church  and  school. 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  Pretoria  is  the  fondness  of  the 
inhabitants  for  lions  in  their  decorations.  There  are  lions  to  be  found 
on  one  of  their  bridges,  there  are  lions  in  front  of  their  President's  house 
(Barnie  Barnato's  gift),  and  there  is  even  a  natural  lion's  head  at  the  top 
of  a  neighboring  waterfall,  known  as  the  President's  Waterfall.  It  is 
probable  that  these  lions  are  not  looked  upon  as  representing  the  British 
Lion,  but  rather  that  of  the  Netherlands. 

From  Pretoria  coaches  start  to  the  Bechuanaland  border,  and  to 
many  towns  in  the  Transvaal,  not  yet  reached  by  the  railway;  it  is  a 
very  picturesque  sight  to  see  them  starting  from  Church  Square  with 
their  team  of  eight  to  ten  mules.  They  are  awful  torture  chambers  in  or 
on  which  to  travel,  as  the  roads  help  the  constructors  to  destroy  all  pos- 
sible hope  of  ease  and  comfort. 

Pretoria,  though  lying  so  high,  is  not  very  healthy  and  is  very  hot. 
Possibly  the  sickness  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that  the  system  of 
drainage  is  very,  very  primitive  and  the  situation  is  so  damp  that  ma- 
larial fever  is  prevalent  during  the  hot  season. 


BOOK  II. 

CECIL   J.   RHODES,  CAPITALIST    AND 
POLITICIAN. 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 

THEEE  is  probably  no  man  living  about  whom  more  public  curios- 
ity is  entertained  than  the  subject  of  this  sketch.     It  has  been 
jocularly  said  that  the  most  important  personages  in  the  British 
Empire,  and  those  about  whom  most  people  in  the  Empire  are  anxious 
to  know,  are  the  Queen,  and  her  Prime  Minister,  and  Mr.  Rhodes. 

Concerning  no  man  could  there  be  so  diverse  and  even  contradictory 
opinions  formed.  He  has  large  numbers  of  friends  who  appear  to  be 
deeply,  even  passionately,  attached  to  him.  They  speak  of  his  winning 
personality  as  well  as  his  enormous  force  of  character;  they  dwell  upon 
the  vast  plans  which  he  has  cherished  and  the  singular  concentration 
of  purpose  with  which  he  has  sought  to  carry  them  through;  they  point 
to  the  achievements  of  his  life  in  finance  and  statesmanship;  they  tell 
us  of  the  steady  success  with  which  he  built  up  his  enormous  fortune, 
and  the  equally  steady  unselfishness  with  which  he  spends  his  income 
year  by  year  in  the  development  of  his  ideas;  they  point  to  the  position 
which  he  has  gained  through  the  establishment  of  the  British  South 
Africa  Company,  the  energy  with  which  he  occupied  the  great  territory 
placed  under  the  administration  of  that  company;  they  cite  also  the 
power  he  gained  for  himself  for  some  years  when  he  was  Prime  Minister 
of  the  Cape  Colony;  they  point  to  the  calm  self-control  with  which  he 
met  the  terrific  shock  of  the  Jameson  Raid,  and  the  determined  words  of 
prophecy  with  which  he  asserted  that  even  after  that  disaster  his  career 
was  only  beginning;  they  point  to  the  masterful  and  quiet  deliberation 
with  which  he  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  King  of  Belgium  and 
the  German  Emperor  in  order  to  secure  from  one  or  the  other  of  these 
the  power  of  completing  his  proposed  telegraph  line  connecting 
Cape  Town  with  Cairo.  All  these  and  other  facts  combine,  his  admirers 
say,  to  stamp  Mr.  Rhodes  as  one  of  those  men  of  genius  who  rise  but 
rarely  upon  the  horizon  of  human  history;  men  who  by  the  combined 
originality  of  their  conceptions  and  invincible  persistence  of  their  wills 

401 


402  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

make  history;  men  to  whom  other  men  are  but  the  figures  on  a  chess 
board,  and  even  the  forces  of  an  empire  are  but  the  instruments  of  their 
hands. 

On  the  other  side  we  have  those  who,  in  Africa  and  in  England  alike, 
deny  all  virtue  and  praise  to  this  man;  who  speak  of  him  with  rage  in 
their  voices,  a  rage  which  is  caused  by  the  very  fact  that  they  admit  the 
power  of  the  man  whose  character  they  dislike  and  whose  influence  they 
despise.  These  speak  of  Mr.  Ehodes  as  the  colossal  capitalist  who  uses 
his  fortune  for  the  purpose  of  a  colossal  selfishness;  they  delight  to 
dwell  on  the  darker  side  of  the  transactions  through  which  the  great 
consolidation  of  the  diamond  companies  took  place  making  the  for- 
tune of  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes;  they  assert  that  he  has  a  contempt  for  human- 
ity, holding  the  doctrine  that  every  man  has  his  price,  and  that  the 
power  of  money  can  secure  any  end  which  a  man  cherishes;  to  them 
this  capitalist  is  a  man  who  has  used  his  money  with  ruthless  disregard 
to  honor  for  the  purpose  of  achieving  his  political  ends;  they  assert  that 
he  is  superior  to  the  mere  money  accumulator,  the  mere  possessor  of 
wealth  for  wealth's  sake,  in  that  his  supreme  passion  is  the  possession 
and  exercise  of  power  over  men,  and  especially  of  power  in  that  most 
intoxicating  of  all  forms,  the  power  of  the  Governor,  of  the  Statesman 
who  finds  Empires  and  peoples  pliant  to  his  will;  this  is  the  special  and 
most  thrilling  wine  of  life  to  Mr.  Rhodes  they  say — to  drink  this  he  will 
pay  any  price.  The  love  of  power  they  hold  to  be  the  key  to  his  char- 
acter, .the  light  which  explains  every  path  on  which  he  has  chosen  to 
tread.  They  accuse  Mr.  Rhodes  of  using  money  to  obtain  the  Charter, 
of  using  the  Charter  to  obtain  money;  they  accuse  him  of  fomenting  the 
insurrectionary  excitement  at  Johannesburg  and  proposing  that  Dr. 
Jameson  should  support  the  insurrectionaries;  they  accuse  him  of  work- 
ing with  Mr.  Chamberlain  to  "get  even,"  as  it  is  said,  with  President 
Kruger,  ever  since  the  disastrous  days  of  Dr.  Jameson's  blunder  when 
President  Kruger  got  the  upper  hand  of  Mr.  Rhodes.  One  of  the  most 
ordinary  and  frequent  cries  in  connection  with  this  war  arises  from  the 
belief  that  it  has  been  caused  by  the  capitalists;  and  when  people  speak 
of  capitalists  in  South  Africa  they  usually  in  their  imagination  sum  up 
all  others  under  the  one  dominant  and  most  influential  name  of  Mr. 
Rhodes. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  403 

Evidently,  then,  we  have  a  career  here  which  must  strike  the  imag- 
ination as  one  of  the  most  dazzling  in  recent  history,  and  a  character 
which  combines  elements  so  diverse  that  honest  men  and  women  who 
have  known  this  personality  will  take  the  most  opposite  views  of  his 
moral  standing  and  value.  The  day  has  not  come  yet  for  an  authorita- 
tive attempt  to  unravel  the  complexities  which  a  nature  so  constructed 
must  present  to  the  mind.  Only  when  the  life  story  is  complete,  when 
many  portions  of  it  yet  unknown  have  been  described,  and  when  motives 
can  be  discussed  with  a  freedom  which  would  be  unseemly  while  Mr. 
Rhodes  is  alive  and  amongst  us,  only  then  can  we  hope  that  some  one 
may  arise  who  shall  tell  us  all  the  facts,  give  us  the  real  reconciliation  of 
the  contradictions  which  appear  upon  the  surface  and  describe  to  us 
the  real  man  as  he  actually  has  been,  and  the  value  of  his  personality  in 
the  light  of  the  higher  moral  standards.  But  then  that  day  may  lie  far 
ahead  of  us  all,  for  Mr.  Rhodes  is  still  only  about  forty-seven  years  of 
age,  and  made  his  fame  as  the  amalgamator  and  financier  at  Kimberley 
when  he  was  about  thirty. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    EARLIER    LIFE    OF    MR.  RHODES. 

CECIL  JOHN  RHODES  was  born  in  1853,  and  was  the  fourth 
son  of  the  late  Rev.  Francis  W.  Rhodes,  rector  of  Bishop 
Stortford  near  London.  He  is  therefore  now  only  forty- 
seven  years  of  age,  of  apparently  sound  health,  and  possessed  of 
a  bodily  constitution  which  assures  him  of  many  years  more 
of  active  life.  When  he  had  finished  with  his  schooling  in  1871 
and  was  ready  for  college,  he  became  threatened  with  a  pulmonary 
trouble  and  was  sent  out  to  South  Africa  for  his  health.  An  elder 
brother  had  already  preceded  him  to  that  country  for  the  same  cause. 
This  elder  brother,  Herbert,  was  engaged  in  cotton  growing  in  the 
Colony  of  Natal.  In  the  following  year  young  Cecil  Rhodes  returned  to 
England  and  entered  as  a  student  in  the  far-famed  Oriel  College,  Oxford. 
Here  he  caught  a  chill  while  rowing,  and  his  lungs  became  again  seri- 
ously affected.  This  drove  him  immediately  back  to  South  Africa. 

The  two  brothers  having  heard  of  the  discovery  of  diamonds  in  Gri- 
qualand  West  gave  up  their  ideas  of  settling  in  Natal  and  went  to  hunt 
for  diamond  claims  in  the  new  and  wonderful  scene  of  fortune-making. 
Here  they  speedily  settled  to  work.  After  a  time  the  elder  brother,  Her- 
bert, left,  and  in  1877  died  while  engaged  on  a  hunting  expedition  in  Cen- 
tral Africa.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  was  from  the  first  successful  in  the  diamond 
fields,  so  successful  indeed  that  after  a  while  he  resolved  to  return  to 
Oxford  to  complete  his  college  course  and  take  his  degree.  This  un- 
doubtedly is  an  illustration  of  that,  persistence  and  force  of  will  which 
characterize  the  man.  For  two  or  three  years  he  spent  the  larger  part 
of  the  year  in  Oxford,  returning  for  the  long  vacation  to  his  work  on 
the  diamond  fields.  It  was  during  one  of  these  journeys  toward  Kim- 
berley  that  young  Rhodes  found  himself  sitting  beside  an  older  man  who 
was  evidently  a  British  officer.  With  that  strange  reserve  which  Eng- 
lishmen exercise  even  toward  one  another,  and  which  all  other  peoples 
so  severely  criticise,  the  two  men  sat  for  a  long  time  in  utter  silence, 

404 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  405 

the  elder  watching  with  surprise  his  companion  as  he  studied  the  Prayer 
Book  of  the  Church  of  England.  At  last  the  officer  asked  him  what  he 
was  reading,  and  was  told  that  he  was  a  student  at  Oxford  and  was 
studying  the  Thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England  for  his  next 
examination.  The  older  man  was  Colonel  (afterward  the  famous  Gen- 
eral Sir)  Charles  Warren.  The  acquaintance  made  in  that  Cape  post 
cart  on  the  way  to  Kimberley  was  the  beginning,  if  not  of  a  friendship, 
at  any  rate  of  an  intercourse  wrhich  brought  them  some  very  exciting 
experiences  in  after  years. 

It  was  while  at  Oxford  that,  according  to  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead,  he  came 
upon  an  idea  which  had  much  influence  in  moulding  his  future  life. 
"When  Mr.  Khodes  was  an  under-graduate  at  Oxford,"  we  are  told,  "he 
was  profoundly  influenced  by  a  saying  of  Aristotle  as  to  the  importance 
of  having  an  aim  in  life  sufficiently  lofty  to  justify  your  spending  your 
life  in  endeavoring  to  reach  it.  He  went  back  to  Africa  wondering  what 
his  aim  in  life  should  be,  knowing  only  one  thing:  that  whatever  it  was, 
he  had  not  found  it.  For  him  that  supreme  ideal  was  still  to  seek.  So  he 
fell  a-thinking.  The  object  to  which  most  of  those  who  surrounded  him 
eagerly  dedicated  their  lives  was  the  pursuit  of  wealth.  For  that  they 
were  ready  to  sacrifice  all.  Was  it  worth  it?"  We  are  told  that  having 
compared  the  burdens  and  anxieties  of  wealth  with  the  pleasures  of  its 
possession,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  wealth  as  such  was  not  worthy  of 
becoming  his  aim  in  life.  Politics  as  he  saw  them  did  not  attract  him. 
In  the  church  with  its  Christian  creed  he  was  unable  to  find  rest.  Hav- 
ing come  upon  the  deeper  problems  of  existence  and  of  life,  and  having 
decided  that  there  might  be  a  God,  that  his  life  must  be  shaped  in  view 
of  that  possibility,  he  made  up  his  mind  that  history  ought  to  disclose  to 
him  the  supreme  purpose  of  that  God,  and  that  he  would  be  fulfilling  the 
ideal  of  his  life  if  he  sought  to  keep  in  line  the  expenditure  of  his  ener- 
gies with  the  direction  of  that  purpose.  Therefore,  Mr.  Stead  tells  us, 
the  first  thing  that  he  sought  to  find  out  was  what  God  is  doing  in  this 
world.  Here  the  modern  doctrine  of  Evolution  assisted  him  to  his  con- 
clusion. He  perceived  that  if  the  Darwinian  doctrine  of  natural  selec- 
tion is  to  be  applied  to  human  history  then  he  must  find  out  which  of 
the  races  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  seems  to  promise  most  in  the  future 
development  of  mankind.  Now  the  tests  of  the  race  best  fitted  to  impel 


406  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

the  world  on  its  upward  course  must  be  found  in  three  great  character- 
istics. It  must  be  the  race  which  of  all  others  most  completely  promotes 
justice,  liberty  and  peace.  He  of  course  speedily  decided  that  the  race 
which  of  all  others  gives  justice,  liberty  and  peace  to  those  who  come 
under  its  influence  is  what  we  call  the  English-speaking  race,  whether 
British  or  American,  Australian  or  South  African.  "  'Therefore,'  said 
Mr.  Rhodes  to  himself,  in  his  curious  way,  'if  there  be  a  God,  and  He 
cares  anything  about  what  I  do,  I  think  it  is  clear  that  He  would  like  me 
to  do  what  He  is  doing  Himself.  And  as  He  is  manifestly  fashioning 
the  English-speaking  race  as  a  chosen  instrument  by  which  He  will 
bring  in  a  state  of  society  based  upon  justice,  liberty  and  peace,  He  must 
obviously  wish  me  to  do  what  I  can  to  give  as  much  scope  and  power  to 
that  race  as  possible.' "  The  practical  conclusion  of  all  this  theology 
and  metaphysics,  this  sociology  and  ethnology  was  found  in  this  that, 
"He  would  like  me  to  paint  as  much  of  the  map  of  Africa  British  red  as 
possible!" 

This  sounds  more  like  Mr.  Stead  than  Mr.  Rhodes,  most  people  will 
imagine;  but  as  Mr.  Stead  has  undoubtedly  received  many  confidences 
from  Mr.  Rhodes,  personal  and  political,  it  may  be  taken  that  on  the 
whole  Mr.  Stead  has  in  this  vivid  way  set  forth  some  thoughts  which  in 
the  early  years  of  his  Kimberley  activity  and  his  brooding  anticipations 
Mr.  Rhodes  actually  did  cherish. 

The  life  at  Kimberley  in  those  days  was  by  no  means  conducive  to 
the  safe  development  of  a  young  man's  life.  Before  the  compound 
system  was  introduced,  drunkenness  and  crime  were  terribly  rife 
amongst  the  many  thousands  of  black  people,  as  well  as  amongst 
the  reckless  white  people  who  streamed  thither  from  all  direc- 
tions in  search  of  fortune.  Any  young  man  who  survived  the  tempta- 
tions and  dissipations  of  those  days,  as  well  as  the  business  excitements 
and  fluctuations  of  fortune,  must  have  possessed  a  strong  will  and  a  cool, 
clear  head. 

On  the  business  side  matters  were  complicated  for  the  diamond 
seekers  by  the  fact  that  as  they  dug  deeper  and  deeper  in  search  of 
precious  stones  the  claims  began  to  fall  in  upon  one  another.  The  hole 
which  one  man  had  dug  melted  into  the  hole  which  his  neighbor  had 
dug,  and  these  two  into  others,  and  these  larger  holes  grew  ever  larger. 


WOUNDED    BOER    PRISONERS 

The  pathos  of  this  picture  appears  not  only  in  the  stooping  figure  of  the  man  who  is  faint  with  pain 
and  loss  of  blood,  nor  in  the  defiant  look  of  one  or  two  other  Boers  walking  straight  and  scanning  the 
distance,  but  in  the  contrast  between  their  disheveled  appearance  and  the  marshal  dress  and  commanding 
bearing  of  the  cavalry  soldiers  who  have  them  in  charge. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  40!) 

This  meant  of  course  that  all  kinds  of  bargaining,  of  buying  and  selling 
were  going  on  among  those  who  owned  and  worked  these  mines.  The 
inevitable  tendency  was  to  reduce  the  number  of  individual  claims.  As 
the  number  was  reduced  partnerships  became  more  common,  these  grew 
into  larger  companies,  and  so  the  procession  moved  toward  the  final 
consolidation.  But  the  severest  strain  upon  the  diamond  industry  came 
when  at  last  it  was  apparent  to  all  eyes,  as  it  had  long 
been  apparent  to  some,  that  open  diggings  could  not  be  pur- 
sued further.  The  "blue  ground"  in  \vhich  the  diamonds  are  found 
sank  down  into  the  soil  in  a  funnel  shape,  with  the  narrower  end  toward 
the  center  of  the  earth.  As  the  digging  proceeded  downwards  the  upper 
soil  in  ever  larger  masses  fell  in  upon  and  once  more  covered  up  the 
precious  blue  ground  in  which  the  gems  were  contained.  It  became 
necessary  therefore  at  last  to  arrange  for  underground  mining,  and  this 
brought  about  the  largest  change  in  the  conditions  of  ownership  which 
had  yet  been  seen.  Many  men  were  ruined  when  the  fall  of  the  soil 
stopped  the  work  and  the  output  of  diamonds  ceased.  Others  who  fore- 
saw the  future  bought  the  cheapened  shares  and  held  them.  One  man, 
known  to  the  present  writer,  who  had  sunk  practically  all  his  money  in 
these  shares  when  they  were  at  their  lowest,  retired  to  the  old  country 
to  a  little  town  and  settled  down  as  a  local  photographer!  He  was 
quietly  waiting  his  time.  When  at  last  the  companies  had  introduced 
the  new  machinery  and  penetrated  to  the  "blue  ground"  by  subterranean 
mines,  diamonds  were  once  more  brought  to  the  surface  in  abundance, 
dividends  rose,  the  values  of  shares  leapt  to  great  heights,  and  the  man 
who  had  been  a  photographer  began  to  receive  an  income  of  many 
thousands  of  dollars  every  quarter.  Some  men  were  made  millionaires 
at  this  time  as  the  reward  of  their  patience  and  courage. 

In  the  year  1880  the  great  De  Beers  Mining  Company  was  founded 
with  a  capital  of  £200,000  (about  $1,000,000).  In  three  years  it  was 
expanded  into  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Mines,  Limited.  By  the  year 
1885  only  four  important  mines  remained,  and  these  were  still  owned  by 
42  companies  and  56  private  owners.  It  was  about  this  time  that  Mr. 
Ehodes  began  to  forge  his  way  into  the  very  front  rank.  He  had  been 
quietly  buying  up  one  interest  after  another  until  at  last  he  was  one 
of  the  principal  shareholders  in  the  De  Beers  Mine.  Simultaneously 


410  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

with  the  growth  of  the  De  Beers  consolidation  that  of  the  great  Kimber- 
ley  Mine  had  been  going  on.  These  and  the  smaller  companies  were 
still  rivals,  putting  out  as  many  diamonds  as  they  could  annually,  and 
selling  them  off  as  rapidly  as  possible.  It  was  evident  that  this  was 
driving  the  price  of  diamonds  down  while  there  was  no  assurance  that 
the  supply  would  be  found  inexhaustible.  In  the  interests  therefore  of 
the  companies  it  was  evident  that  some  arrangement  must  be  reached 
by  which  they  should  restrict  the  annual  output  and  maintain  a  steady 
price.  In  this  way  a  large  annual  revenue  would  be  assured,  and  the 
continuance  of  it  spread  over  many  more  years.  It  is  said  that  Mr. 
Khodes  called  one  day  on  one  of  the  Rothschilds  in  London,  and  having 
stated  his  case  and  applied  for  their  financial  backing,  received  it  the 
same  day,  and  went  to  Africa  sure  of  his  future  success. 

There  were  determined  men  in  all  the  companies  and  able  financiers, 
but  the  three  most  famous  names  in  Kimberley  were  those  of  Mr.  Ehodes, 
Mr.  Beit  and  Mr.  J.  B.  Robinson.  Gradually  these  three  came  to  an 
understanding,  and  in  1888  the  two  great  companies  finally  amalga- 
mated. This  was  Mr.  Rhodes's  first  great  financial  achievement,  and  all 
competent  students  maintain  that  of  itself  it  reveals  financial  genius  of 
a  high  order.  Of  course  transactions  so  numerous,  involving  so  many 
interests  tending  toward  common  industrial  ends,  and  resulting  in  the 
enrichment  of  a  few  men  over  all  the  rest,  do  involve  the  infliction  of 
wrongs  more  or  less  serious  and  more  or  less  deliberate  upon  many  indi- 
viduals. There  are  in  various  parts  of  the  world  men  who  once,  in  Kim- 
berley, felt  that  fortune  was  at  their  feet  until  they  met  the  machina- 
tions of  the  consolidators;  and  these  men  spend  their  disappointed  years 
in  cursing  very  earnestly  the  names  of  those  financiers  who  led  in  this 
transaction.  It  is  hard  to  know  where  blame  and  how  much  blame  in 
such  cases  must  fall.  That  men  become  cruel  in  the  excited  pursuit  of 
business  success  is  too  obvious;  that  men  who  in  the  other  relations  of 
life  are  tender  and  considerate  will  ruthlessly  ruin  the  position  of  a  rival 
or  will  send  the  poor  victim  of  a  misfortune  into  bankruptcy  is  beyond 
question.  It  is  not  for  the  historian  to  unravel  all  the  mysteries  of  con- 
science and  apportion  to  the  subject  of  his  narrative  exactly  measured 
blame  and  praise,  as  if  the  inner  world  of  motive  and  intent  were  open 
to  his  gaze. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  411 

Four  great  mines  were  brought  into  the  De  Beers  Consolidated  Com- 
pany. Two  of  these  were  shut  down  and  have  not  since  been  mined. 
They  wait  until  the  other  two,  known  as  the  Kimberley  and  De  Beers, 
shall  be  exhausted.  No  one  can  tell  when  that  limit  will  be  reached. 
This  company  practically  controls  the  diamond  markets  of  the  world. 
The  price  is  maintained  at  23s  (about  $5.75)  per  carat.  The  capital  of 
the  company  is  £4,000,000  (about  $20,000,000).  The  annual  output  of 
diamonds  is  said  to  be  about  £3,000,000  (about  $15,000,000)  in  value,  and 
the  Company  pays  25  per  cent  in  dividends. 

In  arranging  the  terms  of  the  final  amalgamation  Mr.  Rhodes  took  a 
very  peculiar  but  characteristic  step.  His  doctrine  is  said  to  be  that  the 
possession  of  wealth  means  nothing  unless  the  wealth  be  used  for  prac- 
tical and  worth}7  ends.  For  some  years  Mr.  Ehodes  had  cherished  a 
definite  political  ideal  regarding  South  Africa,  and  with  his  eyes  upon 
possible  developments  in  the  future  he  sought  to  have  inserted  in  the 
articles  of  the  amalgamated  company  a  provision,  authorizing  the  direc- 
tors to  appropriate  from  time  to  time  such  fuuds  as  they  found  it  advis- 
able to  set  apart  out  of  their  profits  for  political  or  imperial  purposes. 
It  is  said  that  Mr.  Rhodes  discussed  this  extraordinary  proposal  with 
Messrs.  Robinson  and  Beit  through  one  whole  night  until  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  that  in  the  end  his  rivals  and  partners  yielded  to 
the  strength  of  his  desire  and  agreed  to  the  insertion  of  this  article. 
This  provision  was  found  of  great  practical  value  by  Mr.  Rhodes  when  a 
little  later  he  needed  money  quickly  and  suddenly  to  open  up  the  great 
country  of  Mashonaland.  That  work,  it  seems,  would  have  been  delayed 
for  some  time  had  he  not  been  able  to  turn  to  the  reserved  surplus  of  the 
De  Beers  Company  and  appropriate  £150,000  (about  $750,000)  towards 
the  expenses  of  the  pioneer  expedition  into  Mashonaland. 

Diamonds  having  proved  so  successful,  Mr.  Rhodes  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  gold  fields  of  the  Transvaal.  Along  with  a  well  known 
friend,  Mr.  C.  T.  Rudd,  he  founded  the  Gold  Fields  of  South  Africa 
Company,  which  developed  ultimately  into  the  Consolidated  Gold  Fields 
of  South  Africa,  Limited,  and  gained  a  position  of  predominance  in  Jo- 
hannesburg. It  was  when  possessed  of  the  enormous  financial  power 
which  these  two  companies  gave  him  that  Mr.  Rhodes  at  last  found  him- 


412  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

self  ready  to  undertake  the  still  more  enormous  risks  and  responsibilities 
involved  in  the  formation  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company. 

It  is  said  that  about  the  year  1881,  when  he  was  about  28  years  of 
age,  and  when  his  financial  position  had  become  secure,  Mr.  Rhodes  was 
found  by  a  friend  one  day  studying  the  map  of  South  Africa  with  the 
utmost  intentness.  He  was  asked  what  he  was  doing,  and  answered 
that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  see  that  the  British  Empire  should  be 
extended  to  the  Zambesi  river.  He  had  found,  in  the  spirit  of  Aristotle, 
the  aim  which  henceforth  became  the  controlling  thought  of  his  life. 
That  he  saw  clearly  from  the  first  all  his  plans  or  understood  his  general 
purpose  need  not  be  believed.  We  may  find  reason  for  the  conviction 
that  both  the  plan  and  the  means  of  securing  it  were  not  for  many  years 
crystallized  into  definite  form,  but  shimmered  and  wravered  before  his 
vision  under  the  influence  of  his  political  surroundings  and  the  ever- 
changing  atmosphere  of  South  African  thought  and  feeling.  But  honor 
must  be  given  to  the  young  man  who,  when  wealth  was  coming  to  him, 
felt  that  its  chief  attraction  for  him  lay  in  the  power  which  it  would 
confer  upon  its  possessor  to  carry  out  a  design  so  gigantic  as  the  forma- 
tion of  Austral  Africa  from  the  Cape  to  the  Zambesi  into  one  great  and 
homogeneous  Dominion. 

And  yet  the  relations  of  men  to  the  wealth  which  they  possess  and 
which  they  pursue  is  one  of  the  most  subtle  and  intricate  subjects  of 
study.  Few  have  been  the  men  who  could  say  that  their  desire  for 
wrealth  was  simply  and  solely  a  desire  to  secure  some  definite  object  with 
that  wealth.  Many  young  men  have  set  out  on  the  road  to  wrealth  with 
philanthropic  ambitions,  and  these  ambitions  have  been  driven  from 
their  thought  and  their  affection  the  higher  they  mounted.  In  Mr. 
Rhodes's  case  it  is  not  always  possible  to  see  clearly  the  indications  of 
his  desire  to  possess  wealth  only  for  the  purpose  of  using  it.  His 
critics  confront  those  who  make  this  statement  with  the  fact  that  all  his 
chief  political  achievements,  even  the  development  of  Rhodesia,  which 
he  used  his  wealth  to  secure,  have  tended  to  make  him  wealthier  still. 
It  is  one  thing  for  a  man  to  become  wealthy  and  spend  what  he  has  on 
objects  that  absorb  his  gifts,  he  "hoping  for  nothing  again;"  it  is  quite 
another  thing  to  use  his  wealth  upon  even  great  and  beneficent  schemes 
which,  while  helping  others,  enrich  him  again  still  further.  The  sim- 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  413 

plicity  of  motive  in  the  latter  case  is  one  which  no  outsider  has  a  right 
to  criticise,  unless  the  evidence  become  so  varied  and  so  abundant  as 
to  compel  the  fear  into  a  suspicion,  and  the  suspicion  into  a  conviction, 
because  the  wealth  which  has  been  pursued  for  the  sake  of  political 
power  has,  through  its  political  power,  steadily  added  wealth  to  itself. 

It  must  of  course  be  freely  acknowledged  that  Mr.  Rhodes  has  in 
many  and  various  ways  shown  his  willingness  to  spend  money  on  experi- 
ments of  a  costly  kind  which  have  brought  no  pecuniary  return  to  him- 
self or  the  companies  to  which  he  belongs.  That  indubitable  fact  must 
be  reckoned  as  one  piece  of  evidence  in  favor  of  that  theory  regarding 
his  attitude  toward  wealth  which  Mr.  Stead  so  enthusiastically  and 
confidently  expounds  and  defends.  There  is  one  fact  concerning  Mr. 
Rhodes  which  ought  at  this  point  to  be  mentioned.  It  is  often  brought 
against  him  and  other  millionaires  of  South  Africa  that  they  have  no  in- 
tention of  making  South  Africa  their  homes,  that  they  are  only  exploit- 
ing the  mineral  wealth  of  that  region  in  order  to  retire  to  luxury  and  dis- 
tinction of  life  in  their  old  homelands  later.  This  is  as  yet  distinctly  un- 
true of  Mr.  Rhodes.  He  has  spent  his  money  freely  in  South  Africa,  on 
South  African  projects;  he  has  not  bought  estates  in  England  nor  built 
houses  and  set  up  elaborate  establishments  there;  as  yet  he  counts  him- 
self a  South  African,  committed  evidently  to  what  may  yet  prove  a  long 
career  of  prominence  and  power  in  that  region.  If  his  intention  in  this 
direction  is  persistent  and  unwavering,  then  on  all  South  African  sub- 
jects he  has  as  much  right  to  speak,  and  with  all  South  African  problems 
he  has  as  much  right  to  deal,  as  any  man  in  that  land. 

It  was  in  the  early  "eighties,"  and  when  he  had  begun  his  political 
career,  before  indeed  he  was  quite  30  years  of  age,  that  Mr.  Rhodes  first 
came  in  contact  with  the  great  and  noble  General  Gordon.  The  two 
were  thrown  together  and  Gordon  conceived  apparently  a  strong  admir- 
ation for  the  genius  and  energy  of  the  young  colonist.  They  must  have 
had  many  discussions  in  which  they  opened  their  hearts  to  each  other, 
for  we  are  told  that  on  one  occasion  Mr.  Rhodes  asked  General  Gordon 
why,  after  the  conclusion  of  his  services  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  when 
the  Emperor  offered  him  a  chamber  full  of  gold,  he  had  declined.  Gor- 
don replied  like  a  true  Scotchman  by  asking  another  question, — "Would 
you  have  taken  it?"  "Certainly,"  Mr.  Rhodes  replied,  "and  three  more 


414  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

rooms  full  if  I  could  have  got  them."  He  gave  a  reason  for  this  willing- 
ness to  accept  wealth  in  any  amount.  He  maintained  that  a  man  cannot 
carry  out  his  ideas  however  good  they  may  be  unless  he  has  wealth  at 
his  back.  "That,"  he  said,  "is  the  reason  why  I  have  always  tried  to 
combine  the  commercial  with  the  imaginative,  and  that  is  the  reason 
why  I  have  not  failed  in  my  undertakings."  This  remark  of  Mr.  Rhodes 
himself  would  naturally  lead  the  reader  into  deep  and  sometimes  sad- 
dened wondering  on  the  comparison  between  the  progress  which  great 
ideas  make  in  the  political  world,  whose  only  force  is  in  their  truth  and 
beneficence,  and  other  ideas,  whose  success  flows  from  the  money  that  is 
used  to  push  them  towards  realization.  And  truly,  Mr.  Rhodes  has  on 
more  than  one  occasion  confronted  with  his  ideas,  backed  by  his  money 
power,  ideas  held  by  others  which  were  not  so  backed.  Mr.  Rhodes  has 
carried  the  day  and  his  ideas  have  appeared  for  a  time  as  those  which 
must  win.  But  the  question  is  at  least  debatable,  after  all,  as  to  whether 
his  ideas  and  plans  have  not  proved  less  helpful,  even  when  backed  with 
money,  than  those  others  which  have  not  received  this  support.  In  every 
land  where  this  feature  of  social  development  is  presented  to  us  our  deep- 
est consolation  comes  from  observing  that  wealth  can  only  for  a  time  give 
potency  to  false  ideas.  Sooner  or  later  false  ideas,  mistaken  policies,  be- 
gin to  manifest  their  error  in  the  social-and  political  diseases  which  they 
produce,  and  men,  without  suspecting  or  confessing  that  the  big  idea 
underlying  their  movement  is  the  cause  of  evil,  begin  to  minimize  its 
influence  by  tinkering  here  and  there  at  the  system  which  it  has  created. 
It  is  only  gradually  and  painfully,  but  thank  God  it  is  surely,  that  the 
correcting  of  the  wrong  proceeds  and  the  bringing  in  of  the  true  ideals 
rejected  long  ago  is  concurrently  carried  on.  Some  think  it  is  possible 
to  prove  that  certain  of  the  political  ideals  of  Mr.  Rhodes  in  South 
Africa  and  certain  of  his  methods  have  been  wrong,  have  gained  a  tem- 
porary victory  because  he  employed  and  confessedly  employed  the 
power  of  wealth  to  force  them  into  operation,  but  that  the  process  of 
their  alteration  and  final  removal  has  begun.  Perhaps  it  may  be  possi- 
ble in  the  course  of  this  story  to  give  some  proof  of  this  assertion. 

We  are  told  that  on  one  occasion,  during  the  period  of  the  troubles 
with  the  Basutos,  Gordon  and  Mr.  Rhodes  were  serving  together  and 
saw  much  of  each  other.  Gordon  disapproved  of  the  dogmatic  spirit  in 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  415 

which  his  young  friend  took  hold  of  his  ideas  and  insisted  upon  them. 
"You  think,"  he  said,  "your  views  are  always  right  and  everyone  else 
wrong."  Now  the  Basutos,  like  all  natives,  had  formed  an  intense  ad- 
miration for  Gordon;  wheresoever  he  went  among  primitive  and  savage 
peoples  he  invariably  secured  their  confidence  and  their  love.  Mr. 
Khodes,  it  is  said,  put  Gordon's  humility  of  spirit  and  power  of  self- 
abnegation  to  a  severe  test  one  day.  "I  have  an  opinion,"  he  said,  "that 
you  are  doing  wrong.  You  should  let  the  Basutos  know  that  it  is  Sauer 
who  is  the  great  man,  not  you."  This  Mr.  Sauer  was  a  South  African 
lawyer  who  at  the  time  was  secretary  for  native  affairs  in  the  Cape 
Government,  and  was,  therefore,  officially  the  superior  of  General  Gor- 
don whom  that  Government  had  employed.  The  keen  and  sensitive 
conscience  of  the  Christian  soldier  felt  the  sting  of  this  accusation.  At 
the  very  next  Indaba  or  council  of  the  chiefs  he  stood  up  before  them 
and,  pointing  to  Mr.  Sauer,  explained  to  their  astonishment  that  he  was 
the  great  man  amongst  them.  "I,"  he  said,  "am  only  his  servant,  only 
his  dog,  nothing  more."  Gordon  afterwards  confessed  that  it  was 
"hard,  very  hard"  to  do  this,  but  that  he  had  done  it  because  it  was  the 
right  thing.  No  story  could  possibly  put  the  two  men  who  seemed  to 
esteem  one  another  in  a  more  strange  contrast,  for  while  Mr.  Khodes 
had  the  quick  wittedness  and  the  cynical  humor  to  play  thus  upon  the 
sensitive  strings  of  Gordon's  conscience,  no  one  suspects  that  he  had 
deemed  it  a  reasonable  thing  or  a  step  that  lay  in  his  own  path  of  duty 
to  humble  himself  before  his  fellow-men  in  so -cutting  a  fashion.  But 
that,  after  all,  marks  the  difference  between  the  one  man  who  will  take 
all  the  wealth  he  can  get  in  order  to  push  his  ideas,  and  the  other  man 
who  will  trust  that  the  ideas  of  right  shall  at  last,  in  himself  and  in  the 
world,  overcome  even  the  hostilities  of  wealth  and  by  their  sheer  force 
compel  human  hearts  and  human  society  to  take  their  shape  and  mani- 
fest their  spirit.  We  are  told  that  not  long  afterwards  when  General 
Gordon  was  about  to  start  on  his  last  sad  mission  to  the  Soudan  in  1884, 
and  was  looking  round  for  men  of  energy  and  of  ideas  who  should 
accompany  him,  one  of  those  whom  he  selected  was  young  Cecil  Rhodes 
of  Cape  Colony,  but  at  this  time  Mr.  Rhodes  was  so  deeply  involved  in 
Cape  Colony  politics  that  he  had  to  decline  General  Gordon's  offer. 


CHAPTER   III. 
HIS    EARLY    POLITICAL    LIFE. 

AFTER  the  annexation  of  Griqualand  West  to  the  Cape  Colony  the 
leading  men  of  Kimberley,  which  was  thus  taken  from  under 
direct  Imperial  control,  decided  to  have  their  interests  repre- 
sented in  the  Cape  Parliament.  This  was  the  moment  at  which  Mr. 
Rhodes  entered  the  larger  arena  of  political  life.  He  stood  for  the  rep- 
resentation of  the  Barkly  West  constituency  and  was  elected.  He  has 
held  this  seat  in  the  Cape  Parliament  continuously  from  that  day  to  this. 
A  man  of  his  energy  and  of  his  ideas  could  not  longer  remain  an  obscure 
or  inactive  member  of  any  Parliament,  and  although  still  under  thirty 
years  of  age,  he  speedily  made  his  way  to  the  front.  While  not  pos- 
sessed of  oratorical  gifts  he  is  yet  described  as  a  clear  and  incisive,  if 
somewhat  abrupt,  speaker,  who  aims  at  no  ornament,  no  flights  of  elo- 
quence, but  speaks  warmly  and  directly  on  every  matter  with  which  he 
deals. 

In  the  year  1882  a  marked  change  was  brought  about  in  the  political 
life  of  Cape  Colony  through  the  passing  of  an  act  which  allowed  the 
Dutch  language  to  be  spoken  on  the  floor  of  the  House.  Already  a 
political  association  had  been  for  several  years  at  work  among  the  farm- 
ers of  Cape  Colony,  striving  to  arouse  their  interest,  especially  in  legisla- 
tion which  affected  agricultural  affairs.  This  effort  had  proved  by  no 
means  successful,  until  they  knew  that  once  more  their  own  language 
was  being  recognized  and  that  their  own  representatives  would  speak 
that  language  in  the  House  of  Legislature  itself.  This  seems  to  have 
put  new  life  into  them.  They  sent  a  new  class  of  representatives,  took 
a  new  interest  in  parliamentary  discussions  and  in  the  measures  which 
were  proposed  on  their  behalf  by  the  leaders  of  their  party.  South 
Africans  tell  us  that  the  change  was  not  all  for  good,  because  the  repre- 
sentatives who  were  now  sent  to  Cape  Town  and  who  were  willing  to 
take  advantage  of  the  new  law,  were  as  a  rule  men  who  had  not  educa- 
tion enough  to  speak  English.  Many  of  the  constituencies  were  there- 

416 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  417 

fore  represented  by  a  poorer  class  of  legislators  whose  chief  task  it  was 
to  follow  the  guidance  of  those  whom  they  recognized  as  their  party 
leaders. 

Another  effect  of  this  change  was  to  give  these  directors  of  the  Dutch 
party  an  enormous  increase  of  influence.  The  chief  of  these  was  Mr.  J. 
H.  Hofmeyr.  This  singularly  astute  man,  the  head  of  the  Afrikander 
Bond,  and  therefore  the  mouth-piece  of  all  South  African  Dutchmen  in 
the  Parliament  at  Cape  Town,  adopted  the  clever  plan  of  refusing  to 
take  the  reins  of  power  into  his  own  hands.  He  would  neither  be  the 
"vorlooper"  who  leads  the  team  of  oxen,  nor  the  driver  who  wields  the 
whip;  he  would  be  the  master  who  sits  on  the  box  and  decides  on  the 
route  they  are  to  take  and  the  places  at  which  they  are  to  stop.  He 
became  the  king-maker,  as  it  wrere,  in  Cape  Colony  from  the  year  1881  to 
the  year  1899.  Having  the  Dutch  majority  at  his  back,  he  practically 
decided  who  was  to  be  Prime  Minister,  and  what  his  policy  should  be. 
This  has  been  felt  of  course  by  the  Dutch  party  to  be  a  great  boon.  We 
must  leave  the  nature  of  that  boon  to  be  judged  by  those  who  will  read 
the  kind  of  laws  which  that  party  was  instrumental  in  passing.  But  it 
was  a  bad  event  for  the  atmosphere  of  Cape  politics;  it  immediately 
lowered  the  tone  by  making  the  ministers  feel  themselves  the  creatures 
of  another  force  than  that  of  public  and  intelligent  opinion;  it  undoubt- 
edly made  one  or  two  well  known  Cape  politicians  too  pliant  as  tools  of 
their  master;  it  drove  others  of  stronger  and  more  independent  convic- 
tions permanently  out  of  office.  This  power  it  was  which  Mr.  Rhodes 
found  himself  compelled  to  face  when  he  had  been  only  a  short  time  an 
important  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  it  was  the  sudden  uprising  of 
this  influence  as  much  as  anything  else  which  produced  that  sudden 
change  in  the  policy  of  the  Governor  (Sir  Hercules  Robinson)  which  we 
describe  elsewhere. 

The  first  and  most  natural  occurrence  was  the  recognition  of  Mr. 
Rhodes's  great  financial  ability  by  his  appointment  as  Treasurer  for  the 
Colony.  Later  he  held  the  office  of  Commissioner  of  Works.  The  first 
prominent  action  which  he  took  in  regard  to  the  relation  of  Great 
Britain  to  the  interior  is  to  be  found  in  an  amendment  to  a  motion  which 
he  put  before  the  House  in  August,  1883.  It  was  in  the  very  period 
when,  as  we  have  elsewhere  seen,  the  free-booters  were  busy  in  South 


418  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

Bechuanaland  robbing  the  Beckuanas  and  threatening  to  occupy  the 
whole  territory.  This  would  close  up  the  road  to  the  interior.  John 
Mackenzie  the  missionary,  had  just  reached  home  and  was  about  to 
begin  his  work  on  this  subject  in  England.  Mr.  Rhodes  in  Cape  Town 
moved  "that  Her  Majesty's  Government  be  moved  in  the  meantime,  in 
the  interests  of  this  colony,  to  appoint  a  Resident  with  the  chief  Man- 
koroane."  This  most  wise  suggestion  fell  through  with  the  motion  to 
which  it  was  proposed  to  be  added.  Mr.  Hofmeyr  was  not  anxious  to 
encourage  any  step  that  would  interfere  with  the  plans  of  his  fellow 
Bondsmen  in  the  Transvaal.  If  Mr.  Rhodes's  wise  suggestion,  which 
was  identical  with  proposals  submitted  three  or  four  years  before,  earn- 
estly and  fully,  by  John  Mackenzie  to  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  had  been  carried 
out,  much  ill  would  undoubtedly  have  been  avoided. 

The  next  important  experience  in  this  line  was  reached  by  Mr. 
Rhodes  in  the  following  year.  He  was  in  Cape  Town  when  the  agitation 
against  John  Mackenzie's  appointment  to  Bechuanaland  began.  He 
was  in  Kimberley  when  Captain  Bower  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson 
resolved  to  invite  the  Deputy  Commissioner  to  visit  Cape  Town  for  a 
conference  on  the  progress  of  his  work,  and  it  seemed  to  them  a  natural 
step  to  propose  that  Mr.  Rhodes  should  act  for  him  during  his  absence. 
In  fact  Mr.  Rhodes  was  consulted  by  telegram  as  to  the  recall  of  the 
man  whom  he  was  intended  to  supplant!  Mr.  Rhodes  accordingly  pro- 
ceeded to  Bechuanaland.  What  he  found  there  was  this:  that  the 
so-called  Republic  of  Stellaland  had  been  established  for  some  time 
with  one  J.  Van  Niekerk  as  its  Administrator  and  he  was  a  citizen  of 
the  Transvaal!  This  little  Republic  which  had  a  flag  of  its  own,  lay 
partly  in  the  Transvaal,  as  defined  by  the  new  Convention,  and  partly 
outside  the  new  boundary  in  Bechuanaland.  Mr.  Van  Niekerk  lived  on 
the  Hart  River  on  the  Transvaal  side  of  this  boundary,  and  there  his 
coadjutors  lived  with  him.  They  never  were  inhabitants  of  that  por- 
tion of  Stellaland  which  fell  outside  the  Transvaal.  Mr.  Rhodes  found 
further  that  when  John  Mackenzie  arrived  at  Vryburg,  the  capital  of 
Stellaland,  he  had  lived  there  about  three  weeks,  studying  the  situation 
and  seeking  to  win  the  trust  of  the  inhabitants.  He  had  met  with  Van 
Niekerk  and  other  leaders  both  in  private  and  public  meetings;  he  had 
formally  offered  to  Van  Niekerk,  who  seemed  a  capable  man,  the  posi- 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  419 

tion  of  local  Commissioner  on  condition  that  he  should  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  Queen  on  entering  upon  his  office.  This  offer  Van  Nie- 
l:erk  had  considered  and  had  deliberately  but  finally  declined.  John 
Mackenzie  had  been  further  persuaded,  even  against  his  own  will,  to 
allow  the  Stellaland  flag  to  be  taken  down  and  the  British  flag  to  be 
raised  in  its  place.  This  seems  the  natural  consequence  of  the  step 
which  he  had  been  fully  empowered  to  take,  when  he  proclaimed  Bech- 
uanaland  as  under  the  protectorate  of  the  Queen  and  proceeded  to  re- 
organize its  administration.  When  John  Mackenzie  proceeded  north 
to  complete  his  tour  of  Bechuanaland  he  made  arrangements  for  a  ten- 
tative conduct  of  affairs  in  Stellaland  during  his  absence.  This,  Van 
Niekerk  and  his  companions  could  not  brook.  They  were  not  fully 
persuaded  of  the  sincerity  and  earnestness  of  the  Britis*h  Government 
in  its  new  step,  and  resolved  to  run  considerable  risks  in  the  way  of 
defiance.  They  therefore  proceeded  to  act  as  if  they  still  held  authority 
in  Stellaland,  and  claimed  to  be  the  masters  of  Vryburg  itself,  which 
was  now  in  British  territory.  All  these  acts  of  these  free-booters  living 
in  the  Transvaal  had  created  great  unrest,  had  struck  fear  into  the 
hearts  of  those  who  rallied  round  John  Mackenzie,  and  threw  the  entire 
district  into  disorder.  It  was  a  disorder  which  a  few  police  could  have 
met  and  dealt  with  adequately  if  the  promise  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson 
to  his  Deputy  Commissioner  in  this  matter  had  been  kept. 

When  Mr.  Rhodes  was  asked  to  act  for  the  Deputy  Commissioner 
during  his  absence  at  Cape  Town  he  at  once  went  into  Stellaland.  He 
met  Mr.  Mackenzie  at  Yryburg,  who  explained  to  him  all  that  had  taken 
place,  and  especially  described  the  political  attitude  of  Van  Niekerk, 
who  persisted  in  acting  not  only  as  a  foreigner  but  as  a  hostile  foreigner. 
Mr.  Rhodes  took  the,  as  yet,  unexplained  step,  of  ignoring  all  that  had 
been  done  and  entered  once  more  into  friendly  negotiations  with  Van 
Niekerk.  Not  only  so,  the  small  police  force  at  Yryburg  which  was  just 
being  organized  was  disbanded;  the  proclamation  made  in  virtue  of  his 
commission  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  said  to  be  annulled;  Captain  Bower 
was  summoned  from  Cape  Town  and  he  brought  back  with  him  the 
Stellaland  flags  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  handed  to  him,  and  he,  a 
British  officer,  actually  restored  them  to  Van  Niekerk.  Both  Mr. 
Rhodes  and  Captain  Bower  either  knew  Van  Niekerk  well  and  had 


420  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

reasons  for  trying  to  please  him,  or  imagined  him  to  be  a  weak  man 
whom  they  could  use  for  their  own  ends  and  through  whom  they  could 
gain  ascendancy  over  the  Stellaland  people.  Mr.  Khodes  received  the 
draft  of  an  agreement  from  this  hostile  foreigner  regarding  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  British  protectorate  and  this  agreement  is  one  of  the  most 
extraordinary  documents  in  the  whole  history  of  these  affairs.  The 
document  consisted  of  five  articles,  the  first  of  which  declared  "that  all 
matters  transacted  in  Stellaland  by  Mr.  Mackenzie  be  cancelled."  It 
must  be  remembered  that  this  included  acts  performed  by  him  officially 
as  an  Imperial  representative,  and  which  were  thoroughly  covered  by 
his  commission.  The  second  article  arranged  that  the  Stellaland  Gov- 
ernment as  it  existed  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  should  con- 
tinue to  act,  ^pending  annexation  to  the  Cape  Colony."  The  Commis- 
sioner, however,  was  to  be  nominated  by  the  Cape  Government.  The 
third  article  made  the  extraordinary  and  generous  provision  that  the 
land  titles  in  Stellaland  "as  issued  and  signed  by  the  Administrator 
(Van  Niekerk)  and  registered  in  the  Deed's  office  (Van  Niekerk's  office) 
be  recognized."  That  is  to  say,  Mr.  Ehodes  was  to  promise  that  all  the 
titles  which  Mr.  Van  Niekerk  had  given  to  white  men  in  that  land  should 
be  accepted  as  final  by  the  British  Government  without  further  investi- 
gation. This  preposterous  and  absolutely  indefensible  provision  was 
followed  by  one  which  provided  for  a  court  to  investigate  cattle  thefts, 
but  before  the  investigation  should  take  place  this  article  actually  pro- 
posed "that  Mankoroane  (the  Bechuana  chief)  shall  have  to  repay  cattle 
at  once;"  that  is  to  say,  his  alleged  thefts  or  responsibilities  for  theft 
were  not  to  be  investigated!  He  must  be  fined  immediately  before  the 
court  of  investigation  into  all  other  alleged  thefts  could  be  constituted. 
The  fifth  article  was  another  direct  insult  to  all  those  who  had  favored 
the  Imperial  Government  and  had  put  their  trust  in  it  on  the  represen- 
tations of  Mr.  Mackenzie.  It  provided  that  none  of  these  "will  be 
allowed  to  obtain  a  Government  situation  in  Stellaland." 

Captain  Bower  seemed  to  see  no  harm  in  this  document,  and  trans- 
mitted it  to  the  High  Commissioner.  The  agreement  which  afterwards 
on  the  8th  of  September  Mr.  Rhodes  did  sign  did  not  fall  far  short  of  the 
claims  made  here  by  Van  Niekerk.  The  first  article  was  accepted  with 
altered  phraseology;  the  second  article  was  also  in  substance  accepted 


CECIL  }.  RHODES.  421 

with  the  addition  of  the  words  "recognizing  however  Her  Majesty's 
protectorate  and  subject  to  the  conditions  that  all  executive  acts  must 
be  taken  in  concert  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Commissioner  of  Bech- 
uanaland." But  the  fifth  article  in  the  new  document  actually  sus- 
pended the  operation  of  the  second  article  for  the  period  of  three 
months!  The  result  of  this  was  that  a  territory  which  had  been  form- 
ally announced  as  under  the  Queen  by  a  Deputy  Commissioner  sent 
from  London  for  that  purpose,  and  in  which  Imperial  officers  were 
already  at  work,  was  for  three  months  to  be  placed  once  more  under 
the  power  and  full  executive  authority  of  a  group  of  men  who  lived  in 
the  Transvaal,  and  who  were  openly  and  avowedly  and  intensely  hostile 
to  that  Imperial  Government.  No  one,  not  even  Mr.  Rhodes,  has  been 
able  to  explain  what  he  hoped  to  gain  by  this  most  extraordinary  agree- 
ment. When  Mr.  Rhodes  went  north  to  the  land  of  Goshen  he  found 
that  the  Boer  free-booters  had  become  bolder  than  ever  and  had  engaged 
in  acts  of  bloodshed  and  fresh  aggressions  upon  the  territory  recently 
brought  under  the  protection  of  the  Queen.  Here  his  failure  to  secure 
any  intercourse  with  the  free-booters  was  signal  and  complete. 

It  is  quite  evident  then  that  Mr.  Rhodes's  first  experiment  in  political 
administration  resulted  not  in  clearing  the  atmosphere,  not  in  heighten- 
ing the  regard  of  the  Boers  for  the  Imperial  Government,  but  on  the 
contrary  in  making  that  Government  once  more  the  object  of  laughter 
among  the  border  Transvaalers  as  well  as  in  Pretoria.  The  apparently 
bold  step  which  the  Imperial  Government  had  taken  in  the  action  of 
Mr.  Mackenzie,  was  now  withdrawn  through  the  influences  working  at 
Cape  Town  and  through  the  very  agreements  which  Mr.  Rhodes  was 
making.  How  Mr.  Rhodes  expected  in  this  way  to  keep  the  trade  route 
into  the  interior  open,  to  secure  South  Bechuanaland  for  the  Cape  Col- 
ony, to  clear  it  of  the  Transvaalers  whose  grasp  on  its  administration  he 
himself  now  deepened  and  strengthened,  it  is  impossible  to  understand. 
He  became  aware  himself  that  matters  were  becoming  confused  and 
serious  and  wired  to  Cape  Town  to  that  effect.  Cape  Town  was  other- 
wise becoming  alive  to  the  real  meaning  of  the  events  transpiring  in 
Bechuanaland,  and  the  result  as  we  have  seen  elsewhere  came  in  the 
loud  demand  for  an  expedition  from  England  and  the  presence  of  Sir 
Charles  Warren  in  Bechuanaland. 


422  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

Mr.  Rhodes,  as  we  have  seen,  had  of  old  formed  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  Sir  Charles  and  knew  therefore  the  strength  of  the  man  who 
was  coming.  A  peculiar  and  never  explained  transaction  took  place 
when  Sir  Charles  Warren  was  still  at  Cape  Town.  Mr.  Ehodes  was  for 
some  reason,  he  maintains  that  it  was  for  the  sake  of  his  own  honor  and 
the  honor  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  whose  representative  he  had  been, 
anxious  that  his  agreement  with  Van  Niekerk  should  be  honored  by  his 
successor  to  the  full.  That  very  agreement,  it  must  be  remembered, 
was  the  one  which  cancelled  and  dishonored  the  acts  of  his  own  predeces- 
sor who  also  had  been  a  representative  of  the  Queen.  Somehow  or  an- 
other Sir  Charles  Warren  was  persuaded  to  wire  from  Cape  Town  a 
promise  to  Van  Niekerk  that  he  would  fulfill  that  agreement.  When  he 
reached  the  scene  of  all  these  transactions,  when  he  came  to  know  and 
understand  the  real  events,  when  the  real  disgrace,  weakness  and  danger 
of  Mr.  Rhodes's  agreement  stared  him  in  the  face,  Sir  Charles  of  course 
found  it  impossible  to  fulfill  the  promise  which  he  had  perhaps  rashly, 
at  any  rate,  ignorantly,  made.  Mr.  Rhodes  was  indignant  at  what  he 
interpreted  as  a  personal  affront,  and  sent  a  message  to  the  High  Com- 
missioner tendering  his  resignation.  He  wras,  however,  persuaded  to 
remain  in  office. 

Mr.  Rhodes  had  during  these  experiences  reached  the  conclusion 
that  the  best  method  for  the  development  of  Bechuanaland  was  the  em- 
ployment of  what  he  called  Colonial  Imperialism,  instead  of  the  direct 
Imperialism  advocated  by  Mr.  Mackenzie.  He  maintained  in  the  House 
at  Cape  Town  that  "in  Bechuanaland  lay  the  future  of  South  Africa," 
and  that  the  Transvaal  must  be  prevented  from  spreading  itself  across 
the  continent  so  as  to  close  the  Cape  Colony  out  of  the  interior.  He  now 
held  that  in  order  to  carry  this  policy  out  the  "Imperial  factor  must  be 
eliminated."  This  startling  phrase  awoke  the  anxieties  of  large  num- 
bers in  South  Africa  who  did  not  at  once  see  its  real  meaning.  It 
startled  them,  but  it  pleased  a  great  many  who  thought  they  did  under- 
stand it.  These  others  were  the  friends  of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  the 
people  who  secretly  or  avowedly,  clearly  or  confusedly,  hoped  the  day 
would  come  when  the  Dutch  race  would  control  all  South  Africa  and 
Imperial  connection  would  be  cut  off.  For  them  the  "elimination  of  the 
Imperial  factor"  from  South  African  affairs,  the  refusal  to  allow  the 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  423 

Imperial  Government  to  send  officers  of  its  own  to  control  events  in 
any  part  of  South  Africa,  was  a  necessary  step  towards  that  grander 
consummation.  Now  Mr.  Rhodes  did  not  mean  this.  What  he  did 
mean  was  that  the  British  Government  should  in  a  general  way  superin- 
tend the  course  of  events  in  South  Africa,  standing  between  Cape  Colony 
and  any  other  European  power  that  should  attempt  to  interfere  in 
South  Africa,  watching  also  the  critical  moments  in  the  relations  be- 
tween Cape  Colony  and  the  Transvaal  when  the  Government  of  the 
latter  should  show  itself  too  aggressive  or  too  insistent;  but  in  the 
meantime  the  Imperial  Government  should  allow  the  Cape  Colony  to  do 
the  developing  work  in  the  interior.  For  this  purpose  Bechuanaland 
must  be  annexed  as  speedily  as  possible,  Mr.  Khodes  thought,  to  the 
Colony.  During  his  brief  period  of  administration  in  South  Bechuana- 
land his  plan  seems,  therefore,  to  have  been  to  hold  things  in  statu  quo 
until  an  act  of  annexation  should  be  passed  through  the  Cape  Parlia- 
ment and  receive  the  Queen's  sanction.  All  this,  he  expected,  would  be 
secured  and  carried  out  under  the  British  flag  by  a  British  Colony. 
"Colonial  administration  in  the  name  of  the  Empire"  may  be  said  to  have 
been  the  motto  of  his  policy  at  this  period.  Mr.  Khodes  did  not  himself 
realize  the  weakness  of  a  young  Colonial  Government,  nor  did  he  suf- 
ficiently foresee  the  vacillations  of  purpose  through  which  the  Ministry 
at  the  Cape  would  pass  on  this  very  matter,  vacillations  surpassing  even 
those  of  London.  The  previous  Prime  Minister,  Sir  Thomas  Scanlen, 
had  in  London  assured  the  Earl  of  Derby  that  Cape  Colony  would  annex 
Bechuanaland.  His  successors  in  the  Ministry  at  the  Cape  made  up 
their  minds  that  nothing  would  induce  them  to  annex  Bechuanaland. 
When  John  Mackenzie  was  succeeding  in  Stellaland  and  the  work 
seemed  fairly  easy  and  inexpensive,  when  it  was  realized  that  there 
were  not  merely  50  but  500  European  settlers  in  that  country,  the  prize 
once  more  seemed  too  good  to  lose,  and  the  annexation  policy  was  once 
more  approved.  It  was  during  this  period  that  Mr.  Rhodes  made  his 
remarkable  agreement  with  Van  Mekerk  "pending  annexation  to  the 
Cape  Colony."  When,  a  little  later,  two  of  the  Cape  Ministers  them- 
selves visited  Bechuanaland  and  pressed  a  policy  which  brought  dis- 
grace both  upon  their  office  and  the  Imperial  Government,  while  they 
made  themselves  for  a  while  objects  of  derision  and  pity  throughout 


424  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

South  Africa,  annexation  was  once  more  set  far  off  as  impossible  and 
undesirable. 

In  the  mean  time  the  only  people  who  knew  their  minds  were  the 
Transvaalers  who  saw  Bechuanaland  as  they  thought  falling  completely 
into  their  power,  and  the  Afrikander  Bond  leaders  at  Cape  Town,  who 
viewed  this  result  with  complacency.  Mr.  Rhodes's  earlier  efforts  at  the 
substitution  of  a  "Colonial"  for  a  direct  Imperialism  were  thus  rendered 
futile. 


FRONT  DOOR  OF  MR.  RHODES  HOUSE 

Over  this  handsome  doorway  is  a  bronze  bas-relief  by  Tweed  representing  the  landing  of  Van  Riebeek 

in  Table  Bay  in  1662. 


HfiMkttt^^ 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MR.  RHODES    AND    THE    BRITISH    SOUTH    AFRICA 
CHARTERED    COMPANY. 

IT  WAS  known  for  many  years  that  gold  and  other  minerals  were  to  be 
found  in  the  regions  north  of  the  Transvaal,  known  as  Matabeleland 

and  Mashonaland.  Indeed,  Lobengula,  the  chief  of  the  Matabele,  was 
pestered  for  a  long  time  by  Europeans  who  sought  to  obtain  treaties  and 
concessions  from  him  granting  them  the  ownership  of  various  parts  of 
his  country  and  mining  rights  therein.  It  was  in  the  year  1888,  however, 
that  the  eyes  of  the  most  capable  and  wealthy  men  were  turned  in  that 
direction.  In  October  of  that  year  three  men  appeared  before  Loben- 
gula, and  obtained  from  him  the  concession  upon  which  ulti- 
mately the  great  Chartered  Company  was  established.  These  three 
men  were  Messrs.  C.  D.  Kudd,  E.  Maguire  and  F.  E.  Thompson.  The 
concession  was  drawn  up  with  the  help  of  the  Eev.  C.  D.  Helm,  a  well- 
known  and  highly  respected  missionary  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety. He  had  ever  held  himself  ready  to  aid  as  interpreter,  without 
fee  or  reward,  in  any  negotiations  between  white  men  and  Lobengula. 
His  strong  influence  over  the  natives  gave  them  confidence  in  him,  and 
his  interest  in  them  prompted  him  often  to  undertake  this  task  that  he 
might  protect  them  from  unjust  dealings  by  unscrupulous  concession 
hunters.  He  certified  that  the  concession  to  which  we  refer  was  by 
himself  fully  interpreted  and  explained  to  the  chief  and  his  full  council 
of  headmen,  and  "that  all  the  constitutional  usages  of  the  Matabele  na- 
tion had  been  complied  with  prior  to  his  executing  the  same."  It  must 
then  be  acknowledged  that  this  concession  was  granted  by  the  chief 
with  full  knowledge  of  its  contents  and  clear  understanding  of  its  con- 
ditions. It  does  not  fall  into  that  class  of  documents  with  which  the 
history  of  South  Africa  abounds,  whose  main  characteristic  was  their 
rascality  towards  ignorant  natives. 

In  this  most  important  concession  Lobengula  granted  "the  complete 
and  exclusive  charge  over  all  metals  and  minerals  situated  and  con- 

437 


42S  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

tained  in  my  kingdoms,  principalities,  and  dominions,  together  with  full 
power  to  do  all  things  that  they  may  deem  necessary  to  win  and  procure 
the  same,  etc."  In  addition  to  this  authority  to  engage  in  mining  oper- 
ations a  most  important  responsibility  was  laid  upon  the  receivers  of 
this  concession.  Lobengula  complains  that  he  had  been  much  molested 
by  divers  persons  seeking  and  desiring  to  obtain  similar  grants  and 
concessions;  but  he  now  authorized  the  holders  of  this  concession  to 
take  all  necessary  and  lawful  steps  to  exclude  such  persons  from  his 
land  and  promised  to  render  them  such  needful  assistance  as  they  might 
require  for  that  purpose.  The  holders  of  this  concession  practically, 
then,  received  all  mining  rights  in  Matabeleland  and  even  police  power 
to  cast  possible  rivals  out  of  the  country.  In  exchange  for  this  Loben- 
gula received  1,000  Martini-Henry  breech-loading  rifles  and  1,000  rounds 
of  suitable  ball  cartridges,  and  in  addition  an  annual  sum  of  £1,200 
(about  $6,000)  to  be  paid  in  equal  monthly  installments. 

These  three  gentlemen  were  not  the  only  ones  who  had  their  eyes 
upon  this  region.  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes  was  concerned  in  the  matter  from 
the  beginning,  and  other  men  representing  other  exploring  and  gold 
mining  companies  were  moving  in  the  same  direction.  It.  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  that  Sir  Hercules  Eobinson,  the  Governor  of  Cape  Colony, 
was  not  only  necessarily  kept  aware  of  these  developments,  but  seems 
to  have  known  also  to  what  they  might  lead;  for  on  March  18,  1889, 
referring  to  the  monopoly  granted  to  Mr.  Eudd  and  his  friends,  he  says 
that  "it  may  possibly  develop  into  a  royal  charter."  He  places  before 
the  Colonial  Office  in  a  positive  and  clear  way  the  alternative  which  lay 
before  Her  Majesty's  Government.  Either  they  might  allow  any  num- 
ber of  foreigners  to  obtain  concessions  in  Matabeleland  and  so  cause  a 
conflict  of  interests  and  innumerable  quarrels,  such  as  perplexed  the 
administrators  of  Swaziland;  or  they  might  allow  one  powerful  com- 
pany to  control  the  commercial  development  of  those  regions.  But 
further  the  question  arises  as  to  the  relation  of  the  British  Government 
to  those  regions,  and  here  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  speaks  almost  as  a 
critic  of  his  own  past,  for  he  points  out  that  either  the  British  Govern- 
ment must  make  itself  thoroughly  responsible  for  the  administration 
of  those  territories  and  face  the  question  of  expense  before  the  tax- 
payers, or  make  some  other  provision  for  that  administration.  It  is  a 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  429 

strange  thing  which  every  thoughtful  student  of  South  African  history 
finds  hard  to  understand,  that  the  British  tax-payer  has  played  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  despatches  between  London  and  Cape  Town  and  has 
unwittingly  exercised  so  restrictive  an  influence  upon  the  development 
of  Imperial  interests  in  those  regions.  Every  opportunity  for  a  formal 
Imperial  advance  has  been  hindered  or  stopped  by  complaints  of  the 
Treasury  at  London  or  fears  lest  the  Treasury  should  complain.  This 
has  not  happened  with  the  direct  Imperial  development  of  other  regions 
such  as  New  Guinea,  or  South  Sea  Islands,  or  even  other  territories  in 
West  Africa,  not  to  speak  of  the  Empire  of  India.  The  very  despatch 
of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson's  now  referred  to,  threatened  that  to  take  in 
hand  the  Government  of  Matabeleland  and  Mashonaland  would  cost 
the  British  tax-payers  for  some  time  at  all  events  an  annual  expenditure 
of  not  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  pounds  sterling!  This  extra- 
ordinary and  exaggerated  calculation  undoubtedly  had  its  influence  in 
London.  The  fact  is  that  all  these  regions  might  long  before  that  year 
1889  have  been  paying  by  means  of  reasonable  native  hut-taxes,  the 
expenses  of  a  simple  but  adequate  British  administration. 

On  April  30,  1889,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson's  prophecy  was  fulfilled 
when  the  Colonial  Office  in  London  received  an  application  for  a  charter. 
The  application  was  made  by  Lord  Gifford  V.  C.  in  name  of  the  Explor- 
ing Company,  Limited,  and  was  backed  up  by  Mr.  Ehodes  and  others 
representing  the  Gold  Fields  of  South  Africa  Company.  At  first  the 
proposal  was  put  in  a  moderate  and  tentative  manner.  The  objects  of 
the  company  were  said  to  be  four,  namely,  the  extension  of  the  railway 
and  telegraph  systems  towards  the  Zambesi,  the  encouragement  of 
immigration  and  colonization,  the  promotion  of  trade  and  commerce, 
the  development  and  working  of  minerals  and  other  concessions.  The 
company  promised  to  begin  with  the  railway  and  telegraph  system  ex- 
tensions immediately.  Nothing  was  said  in  these  first  letters  regarding 
the  exercise  of  administrative  authority  by  the  proposed  chartered  com- 
pany. 

The  proposal  of  course  involved  the  union  of  a  number  of  rival  com- 
panies and  the  reconciliation  of  their  apparently  conflicting  claims.  In 
the  negotiations  between  the  Colonial  office  and  the  applicants  for  the 
charter,  as  well  as  between  the  Colonial  office  and  Lord  Salisbury,  the 


430  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

Prime  Minister,  the  idea  of  administrative  functions  granted  to-  the  pro- 
posed company  was  gradually  introduced.  It  was  on  June  28,  1889, 
that  Lord  Salisbury  was  asked  for  his  final  opinion,  and  was  told  that 
the  charter  as  drafted  would  incorporate  the  company  for  trading  and 
working  the  concessions  which  had  been  obtained,  but  would  also  em- 
power the  company  "if  and  when  it  acquired  from  the  native  chiefs 
grants  or  power  of  government,  to  assume  such  functions  of  government 
as  Her  Majesty  may  think  desirable  for  it  to  undertake."  Mr.  Khodes 
was  in  a  hurry  to  return  to  Africa  and  Lord  Salisbury  was  asked  there- 
fore to  decide  the  matter  in  a  few  days.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and 
the  negotiations  steadily  proceeded  until  at  last  the  charter  was  finally 
drawn  up  and  was  granted  on  October  15, 1889.  It  required  the  assent 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  but  that  was  easily  secured  in  spite  of  the 
known  disapproval  of  many  members  and  large  sections  of  the  British 
public.  This  assent  was  obtained  by  bringing  the  matter  before  the 
House  at  the  end  of  a  session  and  in  an  unexpected  hour.  The  country 
was  surprised  to  find  that  with  so  little  discussion,  so  sweeping  a  charter 
had  been  granted.  On  the  whole  the  step  was  received  with  considera- 
ble enthusiasm  by  the  press  of  the  country.  Attention  was  naturally 
concentrated  by  most  people  upon  the  commercial  and  colonizing  as- 
pects of  the  scheme;  the  political  advantages  were  of  course  emphasized 
in  the  fact  that  thus  Great  Britain  finally  secured  for  herself  the  position 
of  territorial  paramountcy  in  South  Africa  as  a  whole.  But  not  much 
attention  wras  paid  to  the  most  important,  nay  the  vital  part  of  the 
scheme,  which  gave  to  this  company  not  only  an  enormous  territory  for 
its  own  possession  and  use  with  vast  commercial  privileges  and  facili- 
ties, but  enormous  responsibilities  and  powers  of  a  political  and  admin- 
istrative nature. 

The  petitioners  to  whom  the  charter  was  granted  and  who  were 
named  as  first  directors  of  the  Company  were  the  Duke  of  Abercorn,  the 
Duke  of  Fife,  Lord  Gifford,  V.  C.,  Mr.  Cecil  John  Rhodes,  Mr.  Alfred  Beit, 
Mr.  Albert  Grey  and  Mr.  George  Canston.  These  persons  had  been 
selected  with  singular  astuteness  and  were  drawn  from  divers  and 
influential  sections  of  society.  The  Duke  of  Fife  was  within  the  Royal 
circle,  the  Duke  of  Abercorn  was  one  of  the  leading  noblemen  of  Great 
Britain,  Lord  Gifford  was  one  of  her  bravest  soldiers,  Mr.  Beit  was  not 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  431 

a  British  subject  but  a  European  capitalist  of  great  influence,  Mr.  Albert 
Grey  had  been  long  prominent  in  connection  with  the  South  African 
Committee  as  one  of  the  most  earnest  men  in  England  concerning  the 
Imperial  development  of  South  Africa  and  the  recognition  of  native 
rights  and  preservation  of  native  interests.  He  was  the  nephew  and 
heir  of  Lord  Grey,  whose  profound  interest  in  South  African  affairs  had 
lasted  for  many  years.  There  seemed  to  be  in  this  list  a  full  guarantee 
to  the  British  public  that  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Company  would 
aim  at  the  noblest  kind  of  administration  in  the  territories  assigned  to 
them.  The  charter  itself  was  granted  avowedly  on  account  of  commer- 
cial advantages  to  British  subjects  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  the 
colonies,  which  would  accrue  from  the  operations  of  this  Company;  but 
emphasis  was  also  laid  in  the  preamble  upon  the  benefit  that  w7ould  be 
bestowed  upon  the  natives  through  the  civilizing  influences  that  could  be 
brought  to  bear  upon  them  by  this  form  of  administration.  The  slave 
trade  would  be  suppressed,  the  liquor  traffic  would  be  regulated,  immi- 
gration of  Europeans  would  be  both  encouraged  and  directed,  and  thus 
the  native  peoples  would  be  preserved  from  disaster  and  have  their  civ- 
ilization advanced.  The  territory  assigned  to  the  Company  was  said  to  be 
north  of  British  Bechuanaland,  thus  including  Khama's  country,  which, 
howrever,  has  never  yet  been  actually  placed  under  the  Company,  north 
and  west  of  the  Transvaal  and  west  of  Portuguese  territory.  No  north- 
ern boundary  was  assigned,  leaving,  let  us  suppose,  all  the  territory  as 
far  as  Cairo  unclaimed  and  unassigned!  All  the  regulations  and  admin- 
istrative functions  of  the  Company  were  to  be  subject  to  the  approval  and 
open  to  the  constant  investigation  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in  London, 
and  his  decision  on  all  matters  was  to  be  considered  final  by  the  Com- 
pany. The  Company  must  annually  report  on  its  income  and  expendi- 
tures in  connection  with  its  administrative  work,  and  describe  also  its 
public  proceedings  and  the  condition  of  the  territories  under  its  Govern- 
ment. It  was  provided  that  the  Imperial  Government  reserved  the 
right  to  alter  or  annul  the  charter  if  any  of  the  proceedings  relating  to 
administration  and  public  matters  were  not  satisfactory.  In  any  case 
the  charter  would  come  up  for  consideration  at  the  end  of  twenty-five 
years  when  it  might  be  repealed  or  altered,  and  thereafter  for  similar 
consideration  at  the  end  of  every  ten  years. 


432  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

It  must  be  granted  that  these  provisions,  as  well  as  the  description 
of  the  purposes  of  the  Charter  in  the  preamble,  were  well  calculated  to 
satisfy  the  public  that  the  granting  of  this  Charter  did  not  mean  a  return 
to  the  antiquated  system  of  the  old  East  India  Chartered  Company. 
Pull  powers  were  reserved  by  the  British  Government,  which  seemed  to 
make  it  certain  that  no  serious  departures  would  be  made  from  tradi- 
tional methods  of  Imperial  administration;  and  the  tone  of  the  docu- 
ment was  such  as  to  suggest  powerfully  that  the  directors  of  the  Com- 
pany would  keep  the  well-being  of  the  native  races  continually  in  view 
and  that  towards  them  the  most  benevolent  relations  would  be  main- 
tained. 

The  securing  of  this  charter  was  a  masterstroke  from  the  point  of 
view  of  those  who  saw  the  unfltness  of  Cape  Colony  to  do  such  work, 
the  unreadiness  of  the  Imperial  Government  to  undertake  it,  and  the 
serious  results  that  would  follow  if  it  were  left  to  the  Boers  of  the 
Transvaal  to  found  new  "Republics"  therein.  It  must  be  regarded  as 
one  of  the  crowning  achievements  of  Mr.  Ehodes's  life  when  thus  re- 
garded. True  Imperialists  held  and  hold  another  view  of  those  who 
granted  the  Charter  instead  of  sending  an  Imperial  administration  into 
that  region. 

The  opposition  to  the  granting  of  the  Charter  to  the  British  South 
Africa  Company  was  both  considerable  in  extent  and  very  strong  in 
feeling.  The  conviction  of  many  of  the  best  minds  in  Great  Britain  was 
that  a  chartered  company  must  ever  be  a  very  dangerous  instrument  of 
government.  The  danger  arises  from  the  fact  that,  as  the  modern  mind 
more  clearly  perceives  every  day,  the  exercise  of  government  must  be 
based  on  high  ideals  and  carried  out  by  untainted  officials. 

Government  is  for  the  sake  of  the  governed;  the  authority  and  fame 
and  the  enjoyment  of  power,  belonging  to  those  who  rule  as  legislators 
and  administrators  must  be  their  supreme  reward.  The  suspicion  that 
legislators  and  administrators  become  wealthy  through  or  in  connection 
with  their  exercise  of  these  functions  is  now  seen  to  cast  a  direct  dis- 
honor upon  them.  This  responsibility  of  Governorship  ns  one  of  the 
loftiest  to  which  any  man  can  aspire,  and  the  higher  it  is  seen  to  be  in  its 
moral  connections,  which  constitute  its  true  glory,  the  further  must 
those  who  would  carry  it  as  their  life  burden  remove  themselves  from 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  433 

the  accusation  of  corruption.  On  the  other  hand  the  commercial  enter- 
prise exists  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  adding  to  the  wealth  of  those  who 
form  it.  The  day  may  be  coming  when  commercialism  shall  also  be 
subjected  to  the  same  lofty  ideals  which  are  now  before  our  eyes  con- 
quering the  sphere  of  government.  It  was  once  as  hard  to  suppose  that 
kings  and  soldiers,  legislators  and  judges  should  consider  the  poor  and 
needy  and  arrange  for  the  long,  patient  process  of  upraising  the 
oppressed  and  degraded,  which  we  see  in  India,  as  it  is  to-day  to  imagine 
that  mighty  commercial  corporations  and  syndicates  should  show  by 
their  methods  that  they  exist  for  the  benefit  of  the  small  dealer  and  in- 
efficient working  men.  At  present  the  ideal  of  government  in  the  actual 
practice  of  most  modern  states  has  far  outrun  the  working  ideal  of  com- 
mercialism. Hence  the  danger  of  attempting  to  unite  the  two  as  was 
done  when  the  British  Government  in  a  weak  hour,  which  many  mem- 
bers of  that  Government  have  repented  since,  granted  its  charter  to  the 
British  South  Africa  Company.  According  to  the  Charter,  as  we  have 
seen,  that  Company  was  to  be  treated  both  as  a  commercial  company, 
exploiting  the  northern  part  of  Austral  Africa  for  the  enrichment  of  its 
shareholders,  and  a  governing  body,  clothed  with  the  power  to  make  and 
administer  laws  both  for  the  whites  and  blacks  living  in  that  region. 
Whether  Mr.  Rhodes  and  his  co-workers  succeeded  in  uniting  these  two 
apparently  inconsistent  functions  honorably,  in  their  commercial  de- 
velopment of  the  territories  assigned  to  them  for  government,  or  in  the 
government  of  the  territories  assigned  to  them  for  commercial  develop- 
ment, we  must  try  to  see. 

In  the  meantime  it  is  of  great  importance  for  an  understanding  of 
the  last  ten  years  of  British  history  in  South  Africa  to  realize,  however 
painful  it  be  to  do  so,  both  clearly  and  deeply  that  the  existence  of  this 
Chartered  Company  has  brought  a  tainted  atmosphere  about  even  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  noblest  legislature  known  to  history.  For 
many  years  it  has  been  the  well-grounded  boast  of  the  British  people 
that  their  rulers  were  incorruptible,  that  no  statesman  in  the  House  of 
Commons  or  the  House  of  Lords  could  be  "reached"  by  any  one  inter- 
ested in  a  bit  of  legislation  with  any  offer  of  personal  or  private  reward. 
The  pressure  of  public  sentiment  had  become  so  powerful,  and  the  criti- 
cal light  so  searching,  that  the  moral  tone  in  this  regard  had  been  raised 


434  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

high  above  any  standard  which  probably  the  world  had  ever  seen. 
But  since  the  day  when  members  of  the  Royal  family  and  Dukes  and 
wealthy  politicians  became  members  of  this  Chartered  Company,  and 
since  its  directors  began  to  operate  in  London  as  well  as  at  Cape  Town 
for  the  development  of  plans  affecting  South  Africa,  plans  which  worked 
all  together  towards  the  ultimate  aggrandizement  of  that  Company,  the 
English  people  have  been  troubled  with  an  uncomfortable  and  often  ill- 
defined  suspicion.  They  have  not  hitherto  been  easily  affected  by  the 
vague  cry  and  the  indefinite  accusations  against  capitalists  as  such;  yet 
they  have  come  to  feel  that  through  the  influence  of  this  Company 
capitalists  have  at  last  succeeded  in  actually  touching  and  directing 
Parliamentary  affairs,  for  their  own  sakes. 

This  influence  is  by  some  people  traced  so  far  back  as  to  the  time 
when  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  as  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa 
discouraged  the  British  Government  repeatedly  and  strongly  against 
undertaking  Imperial  responsibilities  in  Bechuanaland  and  Matabele- 
land  and  Mashonaland.  Powerful  influences  were  at  work  before  the 
year  1889  in  England,  as  we  have  shown  elsewhere,  which  were  steadily 
making  progress,  and  which  would  in  a  short  time  have  secured  that 
the  desires  of  many  native  chiefs  in  those  regions  and  the  offers  of  trea- 
ties formally  and  repeatedly  made  by  them  should  be  accepted  and 
acted  upon,  and  the  Imperial  administration  established  there.  Un- 
doubtedly the  influence  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  was  steadily  and 
powerfully  exerted  against  this  movement.  At  the  very  same  time,  dur- 
ing the  years  when  he  maintained  that  Great  Britain  had  no  direct 
interest  north  of  Mafeking,  he  seems  to  have  been  aware  that  wealthy 
Englishmen  and  Colonists  were  busily  striving  with  one  another  to  buy 
concessions  in  those  very  regions.  As  we  have  seen  he  even  seems  to 
have  known  when  Mr.  Rhodes's  agents  (Mr.  Rudd  and  others)  were  se- 
curing their  great  concession  from  Lobengula  that  this  might  blossom 
into  a  chartered  company. 

Some  people  observe  that,  largely  through  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Rhodes,  who  was  at  once  manager  of  the  Chartered  Company  and  Prime 
Minister  of  Cape  Colony,  the  valuable  territory  of  Swaziland  was  offered 
on  certain  conditions  to  the  Transvaal  Government,  and  that  among 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  435 

these  was  a  covert  warning  against  a  threatened  influx  of  Boers  upon 
the  Chartered  Company's  territories  to  the  north. 

Some  people  remember  the  fact  that  the  magnificent  Crown  Colony 
of  South  Bechuanaland  was,  contrary  to  the  expressed  and  urgent  de- 
sires of  the  native  chiefs  and  the  bulk  of  the  white  inhabitants,  annexed 
to  the  Cape  Colony  only  a  few  months  before  the  Jameson  Raid. 

Some  people  have  been  also  aware  that  the  large  majority  of  the 
leaders  of  both  the  threatened  insurrection  at  Johannesburg  and  the 
invading  force  of  Dr.  Jameson  were  shareholders  in  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany. 

People  have  observed  with  increasing  distress  that  one  great  journal 
after  another  both  in  Great  Britain  and  in  South  Africa  suddenly  swung 
round  from  opposition  to  the  warmest  approval  of  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany and  its  methods.  They  have  observed  that  the  news  published  by 
these  journals  as  well  as  the  editorial  comments  have  been  colored  very 
deeply  by  their  new-born  partiality.  Specific  instances  connecting  Mr. 
Rhodes  or  his  leading  friends  with  influential  personages  upon  at  least 
several  of  these  journals,  have  stimulated  suspicion  and  distrust. 

People  remember  that  more  than  once  Mr.  Rhodes  has  spoken,  even 
in  London,  words-  which  indicated  his  firm  belief  that  money  can  do  any- 
thing, and  that  he  has  not  met  the  man  who  cannot  be  bought.  The 
latter  statement  is  popularly  ascribed  to  him ;  but  it  must  be  corrected 
by  another  in  which  it  is  said  that  he  has  condescended  to  name  two  or 
three  men  whom  he  has  met  in  South  Africa  whom  he  could  not  buy. 

People  remember  now  that  the  Chartered  Company  has,  as  we  shall 
see,  been  seriously  accused  on  very  full  and  substantial  evidence  of 
offences  against  the  principles  of  honorable  British  administration  in 
its  management  of  its  new  dominions,  but  the  public  has  not  been  al- 
lowed to  hear  these  facts  with  any  fulness. 

People  remember  that  Mr.  Rhodes  managed  to  hoodwink  the  Gov- 
ernment,— he  even,  Mr.  Chamberlain  asserts,  managed  to  hoodwink 
himself,  the  wide-awake  and  most  alert  Colonial  Secretary, — when  he 
was  preparing  for  the  attempted  masterstroke  of  his  life,  the  insurrec- 
tion at  Johannesburg  and  the  invasion  from  Rhodesia. 

People  remember  that  when  Mr.  Rhodes  returned  to  England  for  the 
Parliamentary  inquiry  he  himself  was  not  sent  to  prison  when  his  South 


436  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

African  coadjutors  were;  that  it  was  proved  that  he  kept  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson's  financial  secretary,  Sir  Graham  Bower,  informed  of  his 
projects,  while  the  latter  did  not  inform  the  poor  old  gentleman  who 
had  been  brought  once  more  to  South  Africa  to  serve  the  purposes  of 
his  smiling  friends  there. 

People  remember  that  the  inquiry  was  suddenly  closed  and  that  Mr. 
Rhodes's  character,  while  utterly  condemned  by  the  findings  of  the  Com- 
mittee, was  utterly  cleared  by  Mr.  Chamberlain  on  the  floor  of  the 
House. 

People  who  have  remembered  these  things  have  felt  throughout  the 
past  year  a  deep  and  invincible  suspicion  that  even  the  controversy 
with  the  Transvaal  Government  was  tainted,  and  the  path  of  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  towards  the  securing  of  justice  to  the  Out- 
landers  was  made  tortuous  and  impossible  both  by  the  past  reputation 
and  the  present  influences  of  South  African  capitalists. 

All  this  mass  of  suspicion  has  grown  in  the  English  mind,  slowly 
but  steadily  and  powerfully,  and  has  spread  though  many  circles  a 
warm  indignation  at  the  existence  in  English  history  to-day  of  a  com- 
pany whose  functions  are  felt  to  be  inconsistent  with  one  another 
and  whose  influence  upon  the  relations  of  Great  Britain  to  South  Africa 
have  proved  to  be  poisonous  in  their  spirit  and  almost  fatal  in  their 
issue. 

To-day,  while  the  war  goes  on,  the  mind  of  England  is  confused. 
Patriotism  and  the  instinct  of  self-preservation  bid  the  Empire  stand  as 
one  man  till  the  final  victory  be  gained  and  supremacy  in  South  Africa 
once  for  all  asserted.  That  seems  for  the  moment  to  many  people  incon- 
sistent with  a  close  scrutiny  and  a  severe  condemnation  of  those  Imperial 
measures  and  mistakes  which  have  led  to  the  present  conflagration. 
Keen  minds  are,  however,  at  work  upon  the  subject,  and  the  wide- 
spread suspicion  to  which  we  have  referred,  regarding  the  influences 
which  have  moulded  South  African  history  for  the  last  fifteen  years, 
will  lead,  every  true  Imperialist  hopes,  to  the  public  unmasking  of  the 
malign  forces  which  have  been  at  work.  The  mightiest  of  these  have 
been,  as  it  seems  to  an  increasing  number  of  British  minds,  the  in- 
trigues in  London  and  Cape  Town  of  the  Chartered  Company. 

It  is  this  haunting  suspicion,  which  has  so  many  successive  political 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  437 

transactions  to  suggest  it  and  stimulate  it  and  clothe  it  with  horror, 
that  has  made  the  only  serious  difficulty  for  the  consciences  of  time  Brit- 
ons in  the  prosecution  of  the  war.  They  have  felt  that  the  British 
Government,  being  responsible  for  the  creation  of  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany, is  ultimately  responsible  for  all  those  events  which  it  produced 
and  which  co-operated  to  produce  this  war. 

Yet  such  Britons  find  it  also  necessary  to  remember  the  other  side 
of  the  South  African  history,  which  we  have  sketched  elsewhere,  which 
shows  that  Great  Britain,  acting  as  an  Imperial  force  in  South  Africa, 
has  been  on  the  whole  most  compliant  and  good-humored  in  her  rela- 
tions to  the  Transvaal  Government,  and  that  sjie  is  face  to  face  now 
not  merely  with  complications  largely  caused  by  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany, but  with  complications  caused  also  by  the  rising  ambition  of  the 
rulers  of  the  Transvaal.  They  have  seen,  as  it  were,  Great  Britain 
binding  her  own  hands  and  feet  with  the  thongs  of  that  Company, 
while  actually  freeing  from  all  bonds  those  ambitious  personalities  in 
South  Africa  who  have  worked  steadily  against  British  supremacy  for 
a  number  of  busy  years.  The  question  before  Great  Britain  at  the 
present  hour  as  the  result  of  her  own  changeful  policy,  the  Chartered 
Company's  steady  self-aggrandizement,  and  President  Kruger's  in- 
tensified Afrikander  ambitions  is  this — Whether,  because  of  mistakes 
which  she  must  confess  herself  to  have  made,  it  is  her  duty  now  to 
abandon  all  the  responsibilities  which  have  accumulated  upon  her 
shoulders  in  South  Africa  during  the  whole  century,  and  practically 
leave  that  region  to  be  controlled  and  developed  by,  she  knows  not 
whom;  or,  Whether,  still  confessing  and  more  deeply  confessing  the 
egregious  mistakes  of  the  past,  she  shall  resolve,  even  through  blood 
and  fire,  to  carry  out  in  a  more  generous  and  more  statesman-like  spirit 
the  Imperial  responsibilities  which  South  African  history  has  placed 
upon  her  shoulders. 

This  is  all  perfectly  germane  to  a  study  of  Mr.  Rhodes's  life;  for  he 
made  the  Chartered  Company  and  moulded  its  policy.  What  it  has 
done  is  his  doing,  both  of  good  and  bad.  If  it  has  hampered  Britain's 
dealings  with  the  Transvaal  and  quickened  Transvaal  hatred  of  Brit- 
ain, Mr.  Rhodes  must  carry  that  burden  of  guilt. 

Before  the  charter  was  granted  Mr.  Rhodes  had  given  yet  another 


438  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

proof  of  the  limitless  ambition  filling  his  mind.  He  made  an  agreement 
with  the  African  Lakes  Company,  Limited.  The  directors  of  this  com- 
pany hoped  that  as  commercial  men  they  could  contribute,  by  opening 
up  Central  Africa  for  purposes  of  trade,  to  help  in  securing  David  Liv- 
ingstone's passionate  desire — the  destruction  of  the  slave  trade.  The 
company  was  well  known  for  its  high  tone  and  philanthropic  spirit. 
It  now  controlled  a  vast  territory  in  the  very  heart  of  the  continent 
and  immediately  north  of  the  Zambesi  river.  Mr.  Rhodes  cast  his  eyes 
in  imagination  across  that  river  to  whose  south  bank  he  saw  his  own 
territory  approaching,  and  resolved  to  prepare  for  the  future  by  offer- 
ing to  subsidize  the  African  Lakes  Company.  They  accepted  a  sub- 
scription of  £20,000  to  their  capital  and  an  annual  subsidy  of  £9,000, 
granting  Mr.  Ehodes  the  right  of  taking  over  the  subsidized  company 
at  a  later  date,  if  desired:  This  right  has  since  been  exercised  and  the 
British  South  Africa  Chartered  Company  has  given  the  name  of 
Rhodesia  not  only  to  the  territory  embracing  Matabeleland  and 
Mashonaland,  south  of  the  Zambesi,  which  is  now  known  as  Southern 
Rhodesia,  but  to  a  still  vaster  territory  on  the  other  side  of  the  Zambesi, 
which  is  now  marked  on  the  maps  as  Northern  Rhodesia. 

As  soon  as  the  charter  was  obtained  Mr.  Rhodes  sailed  for  South 
Africa  and  preparations  were  made  with  extraordinary  speed  and 
energy  for  taking  possession  of  the  lands  now  assigned  to  its  care. 
In  all  his  plans  Mr.  Rhodes  was  assisted  by  the  devotion  to  his  scheme  of 
Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa. 


CHAPTER  V. 
MR.  RHODES    AS    PRIME    MINISTER. 

IN  THE  year  1890  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  the  result  and  reward  of  his  co- 
operation with  the  Dutch  party  in  the  Cape  Parliament,  became 
Prime  Minister.  The  Governor  and  High  Commissioner  at  that 
time  was  Sir  Henry  Loch.  Mr.  Khodes's  influence  and  power  in  Cape 
politics  may  be  measured  by  the  fact  that  earlier  in  the  same  year  he 
had  been  allowed  to  attend  and  take  part  in  the  conference  between 
Sir  Henry  Loch  and  President  Kruger  which  was  held  at  Fourteen 
Streams,  a  little  spot  central  and  beautiful  where  the  famous  confer- 
ence took  place  between  the  President  and  Sir  Charles  Warren  in  1885. 
The  subject  of  discussion  between  the  Governor  and  the  President  was 
the  future  of  Swaziland,  a  territory  lying  between  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  Transvaal  and  the  sea,  concerning  which  President  Kruger  and 
his  Government  cherished  great  hopes.  Mr.  Rhodes's  presence  empha- 
sized the  policy  of  which  he  was  the  protagonist,  that  Imperialism  in 
South  Africa  must  be  conditioned  by  working  through  Colonial  chan- 
nels; and  it  meant  that  he,  as  Prime  Minister,  and  at  this  time  an  ardent 
Cape  Colonist,  must  have  some  part  in  deciding  how  Great  Britain 
should  deal  with  the  Transvaal  concerning  Swaziland.  This  of  course 
implies  that  Sir  Henry  Loch  when  acting  as  High  Commissioner  for  all 
South  Africa  and  dealing  with  distant  parts  was  compelled  to  consult 
the  opinions  and  wishes  of  the  ministry  at  Cape  Town,  because  he  was 
Governor  of  the  colony.  How  deeply  Mr.  Rhodes  was  interested  in  the 
questions  discussed  at  Fourteen  Streams  and  what  he  hoped  to  make 
of  them,  is  indicated  by  the  events  which  took  place  after  he  became 
Prime  Minister. 

At  this  period,  then,  Mr.  Cecil  Rhodes,  who  was  still  under  forty 
years  of  age,  occupied  the  following  positions  of  enormous  power  and 
influence:  First,  he  was  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape.  As  such  he  was 
dependent  upon  the  support  of  the  Dutch  voters,  and  hence  his  policy 
must  be  shaped  as  regards  internal  affairs  so  as  to  please  them,  even  at 

439 


440  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

the  expense  of  the  prejudices  of  the  remaining  white  population;  and 
as  regards  South  African  politics  in  the  larger  sense  he  must  so  shape 
his  plans  as  to  convince  both  the  Dutch  party  and  all  others  that 
Cape  Colony  was  being  kept  in  her  position  as  the  premier  colony  of 
South  Africa,  To  secure  the  latter  aim  it  would  be  necessary  so  to 
shape  events  as,  on  the  one  hand,  to  increase  the  influence  of  the  Cape 
Colony  by  expansion  of  her  territory,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  ob- 
tain by  conventions  of  some  kind  commercial  privileges  that  would 
maintain  her  position  and  add  to  her  wealth. 

In  the  next  place  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  the  most  influential  member  of 
the  British  South  Africa  Chartered  Company,  carried  upon  his  shoul- 
ders virtually  the  entire  responsibility  for  opening  up  and  settling  the 
vast  territories  placed  at  his  disposal  by  the  British  Government.  He 
had  practically  complete  power  of  attorney  put  into  his  hands,  so  that 
he  could  act  even  on  the  most  important  matters  without  waiting  for 
advice  or  consent  of  the  Board  of  Directors  in  London.  Now  in  this 
high  office  it  was  his  duty  first  of  all  of  course  to  occupy  the  new  terri- 
tories without  war,  to  devise  the  administration  under  which  they 
were  to  be  placed,  to  select  the  men  upon  whom  the  responsibility  of 
founding  a  nation  must  be  laid.  He  must  also,  in  order  to  do  this 
successfully,  induce  many  settlers  to  enter  and  hence  must  find  ready 
means  of  access  to  the  country  both  cheap  and  rapid  and  as  short  as 
possible.  How  could  he  carry  this  through  without  awakening  the 
jealousy  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  yet  without  hindering  the  develop- 
ment of  his  new  dominion?  He  was  also  called  upon  to  determine 
how  he  must  meet  the  possibility  of  a  great  movement  of  Boers  from 
the  Transvaal  into  some  portion  of  Charterland. 

In  addition  to  these  two  great  positions  Mr.  Rhodes,  it  must  be 
remembered,  wras  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  personalities 
in  the  world  of  South  African  capitalists.  Only  those  who  are  students 
of  social  economic  conditions  in  detail  are  aware  of  the  ramified  and 
extensive  power  possessed  by  a  man  who  holds  under  control  any 
large  portion  of  the  capital  of  a  country.  Mr.  Rhodes  was  of  course 
the  head  of  the  great  diamond  "Trust"  at  Kimberley.  He  was  also 
a  director  in  the  great  company  called  "The  Consolidated  Gold  Fields 
of  South  Africa,  Limited,"  the  center  of  whose  operations  is  at  Jo- 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  441 

haimesburg.  Now  capitalism  had  its  problems  to  present  to  him  just 
as  Cape  Colony  and  the  Chartered  Company  had  their  problems.  He 
could  no  more  shirk  decisions  regarding  the  development  of  events 
in  the  realm  of  capitalism  than  he  could  avoid  the  ever  insistent  voices 
demanding  from  him  consideration  and  action  as  Prime  Minister  of 
Cape  Colony  and  as  virtual  ruler  of  Rhodesia. 

Seldom  has  it  been  given  to  any  man  to  occupy  positions  so  various, 
so  powerful  and  at  certain  points  so  hostile  to  one  another.  He  was 
a  man  of  unspeakable  boldness  who  sought,  and  a  man  of  undeniable 
power  who  obtained  these  positions.  The  supreme  test  of  his  worth 
as  a  man  and  a  statesman  must  be  found  in  the  history  of  his  dis- 
charge of  these  remarkable  offices.  That  Mr.  Rhodes  acted  with  energy 
rs  to  say  that  it  was  Mr.  Rhodes  who  acted.  But  did  he  act  with  wis- 
dom? Did  he  display  the  insight  of  a  true  master  of  men?  Did  he 
manifest  the  unselfishness  of  the  true  ruler  of  men?  Did  he  present 
to  the  world  either  the  inexhaustible  resourcefulness  and  subtle  skill 
of  Disraeli,  or- the  majestic  moral  fervor  and  broad  human  sympathies 
of  Gladstone,  or  did  he  attempt  to  found  a  new  empire  in  South  Africa, 
a  new  United  States,  by  manifesting  the  glorious  unselfishness  of  George 
Washington?  In  the  end  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  Mr.  Rhodes 
will  receive  his  place  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  men  not  for  the  mere 
boldness  of  an  idea,  nor  the  mere  energy  of  a  will,  but  for  the  character 
and  wisdom  with  which  that  will  has  sought  to  move  through  all  inter- 
vening obstacles  and  entanglements  to  the  attainment  of  its  distant 
goal.  Mr.  Rhodes  professed,  probably  sincerely  enough,  that  he  desired 
to  work  towards  a  federation  of  South  Africa  under  the  British  flag — 
emphasized  federation  when  in  South  Africa  and  the  flag  when  in 
London.  In  the  year  1890  he  found  himself  attempting  to  drive  three 
coaches  at  once,  and  the  story  of  the  following  nine  years  tells  us 
whether  he  showed  himself  a  driver  skilful  and  powerful  enough  to 
attain  a  federated  South  Africa  under  the  British  flag,  without  bring- 
ing any  dishonor  upon  his  own  name  or  a  catastrophe  upon  his 
country. 

The  first  effort  of  Mr.  Rhodes  was  directed  towards  the  Transvaal 
and  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  desire  of  the  Transvaal  for  the  possession 
of  Swaziland  afforded  to  him  the  desired  opportunity.  Accordingly,  as 


442  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

the  result  of  the  conference  which  we  have  referred  to  above,  Sir  Henry 
Loch,  acting  of  course  with,  if  not  for,  Mr.  Rhodes,  proposed  to  the 
Transvaal  that  if  they  would  have  their  way  with  Swaziland  first  of  all, 
they  must  promise  not  to  enter  Mashonaland  or  Matabeleland,  thus 
closing  their  power  of  territorial  enrichment  northwards,  and,  secondly, 
they  must  agree  to  enter  into  a  customs  union  which  had  already  been 
formed  between  Natal  and  the  Cape  Colony  and  wras  intended  to  in- 
clude all  the  South  African  states  and  colonies.  It  is  little  to  say 
that  the  Transvaal  declined  these  proposals,  the  latter  of  which  they 
resented  with  great  bitterness  as  being  equivalent  to  a  proposal  that 
they  should  give  up  their  commercial  self-government.  Rather  ought 
it  to  be  said  that  the  Transvaal  Government  were  astonished  and 
angered.  They  knew  at  once  that  while  the  messenger  who  brought 
these  terms  to  Pretoria  belonged  to  Sir  Henry  Loch's  staff  the  mes- 
sage which  he  conveyed  had  been  conceived  in  the  brain  of  Mr.  Rhodes. 
From  that  hour  it  may  be  said  fairly  that  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  Govern- 
ment have  suffered  from  "Rhodes  on  the  brain" — and  that  not  without 
reason.  They  felt  at  once  that  this  strong  will  was  determined  on 
the  one  hand  to  limit  their  power  and  on  the  other  hand  to  drag  them 
step  by  step  into  a  federation,  which  meant  into  the  British  Empire, 

At  this  very  event,  we  may  venture  the  judgment,  that  Mr.  Rhodes's 
mind  showed  its  severe  limitations.  He  attempted  to  deal  with  a 
government  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  deal  with  financiers.  The 
essence  of  financial  negotiations  consists  in  bargainings  which  ignore 
or  are  supposed  to  ignore  all  appeals  to  the  deepest  sentiments  of  men. 
All  that  is  at  stake  in  a  financial  transaction  is  usually  the  question 
whether  A  shall  control  this  business  or  B.  If  B  can  make  proposals 
whose  final  issue  A  does  not  appreciate  and  can  persuade  A  on  short- 
sighted consideration  to  accept  them,  that  brings  a  financial  or  business 
triumph,  and  B  shows  himself  the  master  of  the  occasion.  In  this  work 
of  course  Mr.  Rhodes  had  proved  himself  already  to  be  a  genius  of  the 
first  order.  But  statesmanship  is  infinitely  more  than  that.  The  man 
who  touches  statecraft  is  putting  his  fingers  upon  the  deepest  interests 
and  passions  of  human  nature.  A  word  which  the  clumsy  diplomatist 
imagined  to  be  innocent  looking  and  suggestive  only  in  one  direction 
will  send  the  blood  coursing  through  a  thousand  indignant  hearts. 


a  •* 


1* 

ofl 

IS 

o  y> 

31 


53    . 
ttl      S  * 

CD  o 

•*•  ma 

B«  —  a) 

Qf  *JO 


S   -g'S 

O      2> 


W     §3 

a » 


is 


P 

OJ(D 
»•" 

p-3 


- 

§5 

to  *•» 

S 


S     |- 

fc      -S: 


W 

O 

o 

SB 

ar 

et 
S 


l" 

Is 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  445 

Moreover  in  statecraft  those  who  are  sensitive  lest  they  be  attacked, 
as  the  Boers  have  habitually  been,  fonn  the  habit  of  seeing  in  every 
proposal  all  manner  of  possible  issues  that  may  be  fatal  to  their  national 
honor  or  existence.  Now  in  this  opening  negotiation  the  Prime  Minister 
of  the  Cape  Colony  showed  himself  quite  unable  to  forecast  the  influence 
of  his  seemingly  clever  proposals  upon  the  future  inner  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  the  Transvaal  Government.  He  failed  to  appreciate  the 
determination  of  the  Transvaal  not  to  enter  a  South  African  Customs 
Union,  and  he  failed  to  foresee  that  the  people  at  Pretoria  would  know  at 
once  that  the  effort  to  confine  their  ambitions  northward  came  not  from 
Cape  Towrn  but  from  Rhodesia.  And  such  failure  is  not  statesmanship. 
Mr.  Rhodes  returned  from  his  first  visit  to  Mashonaland  in  the  year 
1890  through  the  Transvaal.  When  he  approached  Pretoria  Mr.  Rhodes 
was  met  by  an  official  who  rode  up  to  ask  if  these  were  the  wagons  of 
"President  Rhodes."  An  invitation  was  immediately  delivered  from  the 
Transvaal  Government  proposing  that  he  and  his  friends  should  be  the 
guests  of  the  Government  during  their  stay  at  Pretoria.  A  little  further 
on  the  party  were  met  by  state  carriages  and  driven  to  the  hotel  amidst 
loud  cheering  from  the  inhabitants.  The  morning  after  his  arrival  Mr. 
Rhodes  drank  coffee  writh  President  Kruger  and  had  a  frank  conversa- 
tion with  him.  The  two  great  Sou.th  African  rivals  parted  with  mutual 
expressions  of  pleasure  at  the  personal  acquaintance  thus  formed,  and1 
the  parting  guest  was  escorted  with  due  honor  for  some  distance  by 
a  regiment  of  Transvaal  soldiers. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MR.   RHODES    AND'  THE    JAMESON    RAID. 

DURING  the  years  1892-1894  Mr.  Rhodes  was  chiefly  concerned 
with  Charterland.     His  duties  as  Prime  Minister  were  indeed 
important  enough,  but  as  bearing  upon  his  personal  life  they 
sink  into  insignificance  when  compared  with  the  importance  attaching 
to  his  relations  through  the  Chartered  Company  with  events  in  Rhode- 
sia.   He  was  of  course  deeply  concerned  with  the  outbreak  of  the  first 
war  and  exceedingly  active  in  the  negotiations  which  succeeded  the 
establishment  of  peace  with  Matabeleland.    Then  for  the  first  time  he 
had  to  undertake  the  actual  work  of  organizing  his  administration. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  here  one  striking  feature  of  Mr.  Rhodes's 
character,  namely,  his  lavish  use  of  money  in  the  promotion  of  his  great 
schemes.  Mr.  Stead  in  his  latest  appreciation  of  his  favorite  Imperialist 
has  insisted  with  much  emphasis  upon  calling  Mr.  Rhodes  "an  imperial 
socialist."  By  this  he  does  not  mean  that  Mr.  Rhodes  believes  in  any 
specific  theories  of  organizing  capitalism  upon  a  national  basis,  but 
that  he  thoroughly  believes  in  the  responsibility  of  all  capitalists  to  the 
entire  community  for  the  use  of  the  wealth  which  they  had  received  from 
or  through  the  community.  Hence  he  spends  his  money  very  freely,  we 
are  told,  in  the  advancement  of  the  causes  which  he  has  at  heart.  For 
example,  he  has  spent  many  thousands  of  pounds  in  experiments  with 
a  view  to  discovering  the  agricultural  methods  best  adapted  to  South 
Africa  in  its  various  parts.  In  Kimberley  he  has  devoted  large  sums 
out  of  the  funds  of  the  De  Beers  Company  to  the  beautifying  of  the  town 
and  the  building  of  a  residential  neighborhood  for  the  employees  of  the 
company,  called  Kenilworth.  He"  has  enormous  wealth  at  his  disposal 
and  is  always  spending  it,  but  very  little  comparatively  upon  personal 
pleasure  or  the  satisfaction  of  his  private  tastes. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Rhodes  was  not  blind  to  events  occurring  in 
the  Transvaal,  nor  was  President  Kruger  unwatchful  of  the  movements 

446 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  447 

of  Mr.  Rhodes.  JVlr.  Statham,  the  biographer  of  Paul  Kruger,  describes 
the  President's  attitude  of  mind  throughout  this  period  towards  Mr. 
Rhodes  in  an  exceedingly  vivid  manner.  He  says,  "This  is  the  picture 
that  has  to  be  placed  before  the  mind  as  expressing  the  situation  in  the 
Transvaal  from  the  middle  of  1890  to  the  present  day — Mr.  Rhodes  ever 
on  the  alert  to  assail  and  overthrow  the  independence  of  the  Republic, 
with  Mr.  Kruger  ever  on  the  alert  to  defend  it."  (Paul  Kruger,  by  Regi- 
nald Statham,  p.  212.)  Possibly  Mr.  Statham,  with  his  accustomed  ease 
of  interpreting  events  has  read  the  later  mood  of  Mr.  Kruger  in  the 
period  succeeding  the  Raid  into  his  attitude  of  mind  preceding  that 
event. 

During  the  year  1894  Mr.  Rhodes  as  Prime  Minister  of  the  Cape 
Colony  gave  much  attention  at  once  to  the  chief  trade  problems  of  South 
Africa  and  the  prospect  of  Federation.  He  had  come  to  believe  that  it 
was  through  the  former  that  the  latter  might  be  reached.  We  have 
seen  that  as  early  as  1890  he  made  definite  proposals  to  Mr.  Kruger  re- 
garding the  adhesion  of  the  Transvaal  to  the  Customs  Union  of  South 
Africa.  In  spite  of  the  rebuff  which  he  then  received  he  held  to  his 
purpose,  as  if  it  were  clear  to  his  mind  that  the  Transvaal  could 
be  persuaded  to  enter  into  such  a  union  without  the  fear  of  losing  its 
independence.  Mr.  Rhodes  accordingly,  in  1894,  persevered  with  nego- 
tiations for  the  establishment  of  a  commercial  union  and  also,  what  was 
no  less  important,  a  railroad  union  throughout  South  Africa.  He  pro- 
fessed that  this  object  could  be  secured  while  each  State  kept  its  own 
flag  and  cherished  its  own  national  sentiments.  His  eye  was  fixed  upon 
the  distant  goal  of  a  United  States  of  South  Africa,  and  he  believed 
that  the  straight  road  thither  would  be  traversed  by  consolidating  the 
material  interests  of  all  the  communities  involved.  We  have  already  seen 
that  in  holding  this  theory,  Mr.  Rhodes  evidently  discounted  the  in- 
tensity of  the  anti-British  feeling  in  the  Transvaal  and  the  degree  of 
suspiciousness  with  which  every  proposal  was  there  considered  which 
even  looked  as  if  it  might  ultimately  lead  to  an  assimilation  of  the 
Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State  with  the  British  Empire.  In  fact, 
Mr.  Rhodes  seemed  to  believe  that  the  cherished  purpose  of  Mr.  Kruger 
and  his  sympathizers,  of  founding  a  Dutch  Republic  throughout  South 
Africa,  and  driving  Britain  entirely  off  that  portion  of  the  continent, 


448  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

was  a  purpose  which  could  be  defeated,  a  hope  which  could  be  starved, 
by  gradually  drawing  the  Transvaal  into  a  substantive  Federation  with 
the  other  States  of  South  Africa  upon  a  commercial  basis.  He  was  met 
at  every  point  by  the  unbending  determination  of  the  dreamers  con- 
cerning an  Afrikander  independence,  to  avoid  every  step  that  would 
even  look  like  a  temporary  acquiescence  in  the  presence  of  British 
authority.  No  argument  of  Mr.  Khodes  could  persuade  Mr.  Kruger  to 
adopt  any  of  his  plans  and  Mr.  Khodes  was  driven  to  seek  some  other 
way  of  reaching  the  consummation  of  his  plans. 

It  is  not  easy  as  yet  to  state  the  time  at  which,  or  the  steps  by  which, 
Mr.  Rhodes  first  became  involved  in  the  plot  at  Johannesburg.  Mr. 
Fitzpatrick  asserts  very  boldly  that  during  the  agitations  preceding 
the  year  1895  the  leading  capitalists  at  Johannesburg  had  no  desire 
even  to  consider  the  possibility  of  a  revolution.  Their  aim  was  to  obtain 
redress  of  their  wrongs  wholly  by  constitutional  means.  They  labored 
accordingly  with  great  persistence  and  patience  by  the  use  of  public 
meetings  and  petitions  and  personal  deputations,  to  influence  President 
Kruger  in  the  direction  of  reform.  When  they  found  that  ordinary 
constitutional  means  failed  in  their  hands  they  resorted  openly  and  con- 
fessedly to  the  use  of  bribery.  Mr.  Reitz  in  his  pamphlet  entitled  "A 
Century  of  Wrong,"  quotes  letters  from  at  least  one  of  the  wealthier 
men  at  Johannesburg  in  which  he  openly  affirms  that  this  was  the  only 
means  left  them  to  employ.  In  spite  of  the  expenditure  of  many  thou- 
sands of  pounds  the  desired  reforms  were  not  realized.  Accordingly  in 
1895  when  they  realized  that  the  party  which  supported  President  Kru- 
ger and  the  Volksraad  was  a  fixed  majority,  fixed  in  its  hostility  to  the 
Johannesburgers,  the  necessity  of  employing  violent  measures  began 
to  be  discussed  even  by  those  who  hitherto  had  most  disliked  the  idea. 
What  part  Mr.  Rhodes  took  in  the  earlier  considerations  of  a  revolu- 
tionary plan  it  is  impossible  to  say.  His  brother,  Colonel  Francis 
Rhodes,  was  in  Johannesburg,  Mr.  Lionel  Phillips  represented  Mr. 
Alfred  Beit,  the  great  German  capitalist  of  the  firm  of  Wernher,  Beit 
&  Co.,  and  it  was  through  these  men  that  the  two  non-resident  capital- 
ists exerted  their  influence.  The  men  on  the  spot  were  of  course  the  real 
plotters  without  whom  the  outsiders  would  have  been  powerless.  It  is 
authoritatively  asserted  that  while  the  idea  of  a  revolution  gradually 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  449 

grew  up  in  Johannesburg  into  a  fixed  purpose  in  the  minds  of  many 
individuals  and  no  one  can  claim  to  be  its  originator,  the  idea  of  bring- 
ing help  from  without  had  its  birth  in  the  brain  of  Mr.  Rhodes.  To  him 
it  seemed  a  natural  and  an  easy  thing  to  send  1,500  men  from  Rhodesia 
into  Johannesburg  when  the  crisis  had  arrived,  when  the  outbreak  had 
taken  place,  when  the  Boers  were  hurrying  to  surround  the  struggling 
city.  Mr.  Rhodes's  plan  evidently  was  this,  that  first  of  all,  the  Johan- 
nesburgers  should  provide  themselves  with  an  abundance  of  arms  and 
ammunition  so  that  the  town  could  endure  a  siege  for  a  reasonable 
time,  that  as  soon  as  the  fort  at  Pretoria  was  captured  and  its  military 
strength  destroyed,  word  should  be  sent  to  Cape  Town  that  Johannes- 
burg had  risen  and  was  in  desperate  need  of  intervention  from  without. 
The  Boers,  it  was  understood,  would  of  course  attack  the  city.  .  As  soon, 
therefore,  as  the  news  of  the  event  reached  Mr.  Rhodes  he  would  inform 
the  High  Commissioner,  who  would  at  once  hurry  into  the  Transvaal 
to  make  peace.  Mr.  Rhodes,  of  course,  would  go,  too.  In  the  meantime 
the  latter  would  send  word  to  Dr.  Jameson,  who  would  immediately 
ride  across  country  from  the  western  border  of  the  Transvaal  to  succor 
the  men,  women  and  children  who  were  surrounded  by  Boer  com- 
mandos. It  was  calculated,  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  tells  us,  that  to  cut  his  way 
through  and  to  make  his  aid  effective,  Dr.  Jameson  would  need  at  least 
1,500  men. 

The  early  part  of  1895  Mr.  Rhodes  spent  in  England  and  there  opened 
negotiations  for  the  annexation  of  South  Bechuanaland  to  the  Cape 
Colony  and  of  North  Bechuanaland  to  Rhodesia.  These  acts  were  neces- 
sary in  order  to  give  Mr.  Rhodes  power  to  move  the  troops  under  his 
authority  in  Rhodesia  southwards  to  a  point  from  which  they  could 
swiftly  and  suddenly  strike  at  Johannesburg.  During  the  ensuing 
months  Mr.  Rhodes  was  in  constant  telegraphic  communication  with 
London  regarding  the  various  steps  which  were  necessary  to  lead  up  to 
the  great  consummation.  At  first  he  had  in  London  as  his  confidential 
correspondent,  Dr.  Rutherfoord  Harris.  Many  of  the  early  telegrams 
are  destroyed,  but  most  of  those  belonging  to  the  months  of  November 
and  December  have  been  preserved  and  were  presented  before  the 
Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1897. 

One  of  the  earliest  telegrams  refers  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Chamberlain 


450  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

had  resolved  upon  an  active  Imperial  policy  in  order  to  secure  a  South 
African  federation.  Mr.  Chamberlain  had,  of  course,  been  in  correspond- 
ence with  President  Kruger  over  the  closing  of  the  drifts,  that  is,  the 
fords  across  the  river  between  the  Orange  Fr.ee  State  and  the  Trans- 
vaal. This,  Mr.  Chamberlain  insisted,  was  being  directed  against  the 
free  entrance  of  commerce  from  Cape  Colony  and  hence  was  a  breach  of 
the  London  Convention  of  1884.  Mr.  Rhodes  had  been  at  one  with  him 
in  the  endeavor  to  crush  Mr.  Kruger  on  this  point  and  wras  not  unwill- 
ing to  see  Mr.  Chamberlain  send  President  Kruger  an  ultimatum,  as 
indeed  he  did.  But  Mr.  Chamberlain,  before  he  did  undertake  the  re- 
sponsibility of  sending  an  ultimatum  had  the  cleverness  to  insist  that 
he  must  have  the  open  consent  and  co-operation  of  the  Dutch  party  in 
the  Cape  Colony.  Mr.  Rhodes  as  the  Parliamentary  leader  of  that  party 
consulted  his  followers,  who  wrere  so  incensed  at  the  time  by  President 
Kruger's  manifested  hostility  to  Cape  interests  that  they  agreed,  in  the 
event  of  war  taking  place,  that  Cape  Colony  would  bear  half  the  ex- 
pense. Now,  Mr.  Rhodes  wras  willing  enough  to  have  fought  President 
Kruger  on  those  conditions,  when  the  Colony  would  not  only  bear  part 
of  the  responsibility  but  would  also  share  the  distribution  of  benefits; 
but  Mr.  Rhodes  had  no  liking  for  the  idea  that  Great  Britain  should 
undertake  any  direct  strong  dealings  with  the  Transvaal,  which  should 
increase  the  prestige  in  South  Africa  of  the  Colonial  office  or  the  "Im- 
perial factor"  without  adding  to  the  strength  of  Cape  Colony — or,  say, 
Mr.  Rhodes.  Dr.  Harris's  cablegram  was  therefore  intended  to  rouse 
Mr.  Rhodes  to  push  his  Jameson  plan. 

In  this  month  of  November  an  interesting  figure  appears  in  the  midst 
of  these  masculine  negotiations  and  plottings  in  the  person  of  Miss 
Flora  Shaw,  a  well-known  correspondent  of  the  London  Times,  who, 
from  the  entire  tone  of  the  telegrams  which  refer  to  her  or  which  she 
herself  sent,  appears  quite  evidently  to  have  acted  as  the  London  agent 
of  the  British  South  Africa  Chartered  Company.  Her  appearance  on 
the  scene  alike  through  the  cablegrams  and  when  she  appeared  as  a 
witness  before  the  Parliamentary  committee  has  undoubtedly  added  a 
touch  of  color  and  piquancy  to  the  entire  series  of  events. 

On  November  6th  Mr.  Rhodes  sent  the  following  most  important 
telegram  to  Dr.  Harris:  "As  to  English  flag  they  must  very  much 


CECIL  /.  RHODES.  451 

misunderstand  me  at  home.  I  of  course  would  not  risk  everything  as  I 
am  doing  except  for  British  flag."  This  telegram  taken  in  conjunction 
with  subsequent  events  to  which  we  shall  refer  indicates  that  Mr. 
Rhodes  at  this  stage  in  the  London-Cape  Town-and-Johannesburg  con- 
spiracy found  himself  in  a  very  critical  position.  As  an  avowed  Im- 
perialist he  of  course  desired  that  the  British  flag  should  fly  over  all 
South  Africa.  Now,  as  the  leader  of  the  Cape  Colony  Dutch  party  he 
did  not  dare  to  say  this,  while,  as  co-operating  with  the  Colonial  Office 
he  did  not  dare  to  assume  even  the  appearance  of  hesitation  thereupon; 
but,  still  further,  he  knew  that  the  leaders  at  Johannesburg  had  made 
up  their  minds  very  firmly  to  remain  loyal  to  the  Transvaal  flag.  Mr. 
Hays  Hammond,  indeed,  at  one  stage  of  the  proceedings  made  the  com- 
mittee stand  up  and  swear  allegiance  to  the  Transvaal.  The  leaders  at 
Johannesburg  were  by  no  means  unanimous  in  favor  of  Great  Britain. 
Many  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  the  movement  averred  that  they 
would  not  lift  a  finger  to  bring  the  Transvaal  under  British  control. 

Mr.  Rhodes  was  therefore  in  a  very  perplexing  position.  In  the  tele- 
gram quoted  above  he  practically  assures  those  with  whom  Dr.  Harris 
was  negotiating  that  he  is  working  for  the  British  flag,  but  when  a 
deputation  hurried  in  the  month  of  December  from  Johannesburg  to 
Cape  Town  in  order  to  assure  themselves  on  that  very  point,  Mr.  Rhodes 
undoubtedly  gave  them  to  believe  that  there  was  no  reason  to  fear  that 
the  result  of  a  successful  revolution  would  bring  the  Transvaal  within 
the  British  Empire.  But  this  is  anticipating. 

While  the  earlier  extant  telegrams  were  being  sent  backwards  and 
forwards  in  the  month  of  November  a  deputation  consisting  of  Messrs. 
Leonard  and  Phillips  went  to  Cape  Town  from  Johannesburg  in  order 
to  have  a  clear  and  explicit  understanding  with  Mr.  Rhodes.  They 
read  to  him  the  draft  of  their  "Declaration  of  Rights."  When  they  came 
to  that  part  of  the  document  in  which  the  policy  of  fre,e  trade  in  South 
African  products  among  all  South  African  states  and  colonies  was  in- 
sisted on,  Mr.  Rhodes  energetically  declared  that  that  was  for  him  the 
kernel  of  the  movement.  All  the  rest  would  come  in  time  he  said.  "We 
asked  him  how  he  hoped  to  recoup  himself  for  his  share  of  expense  in 
keeping  Jameson's  force  on  the  border,  which  should  be  borne  by  us 
jointly.  He  said  that  seeing  the  extent  of  his  interest  in  the  country, 


452  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

he  would  be  amply  repaid  by  the  improvement  in  the  conditions  which 
it  was  intended  to  effect." 

Subsequent  telegrams  between  Mr.  Rhodes  and  London  show  how 
hard  he  was  negotiating  with  the  Colonial  Office  for  the  immediate 
possession,  before  a  certain  fixed  date,  of  the  strip  of  land  in  Bechuana- 
land  which  wTas  to  be  placed  under  his  authority  for  railway  purposes 
and  along  which  he  would  have  the  right  to  move  his  police  southwards. 

At  last,  the  burdened  Imperialist  and  conspirator  at  Cape  Town  saw 
the  end  approaching.  In  the  third  week  of  November  Mr.  Rhodes  sum- 
mons Dr.  Harris  from  London  to  South  Africa,  saying  that  Dr.  Jameson 
had  visited  .Johannesburg  and  had  made  everything  right.  He  intimates 
also  that  arrangements  are  under  way  by  which  when  the  event  takes 
place  Mr.  Alfred  Beit  and  the  High  Commissioner  and  the  Prime  Min- 
ister himself  shall  immediately  proceed  to  Johannesburg.  On  Novem- 
ber 26th  Dr.  Harris  sends  a  "very  confidential"  cablegram  in  which  he 
very  clearly  indicates  that  at  the  Colonial  Office  there  was  considerable 
apprehension  lest  the  Johannesburg  committee  should  carry  out  their 
undertaking  "without  assistance  from  the  British  South  Africa  Com- 
pany and  also  independent  of  the  British  flag."  Dr.  Harris  drives  this 
home  by  saying,  "It  would  have  serious  effect  on  your  position  here." 
He  adds  the  peculiarly  interesting  statement,  "Flora  suggests  16th 
December  celebrate  Pretoria,"  which  being  interpreted  means  that  Miss 
Shaw  had  suggested  that  the  great  Boer  anniversary  known  as  Din- 
gaan's  Day  should  be  fixed  as  the  appropriate  date  for  the  overthrow  of 
the  Boer  Government  at  Pretoria !  But  the  important  part  of  the  tele- 
gram is  that  which  indicates  a  fear  awakened  in  London  somehowr  lest 
the  reformers  at  Johannesburg,  if  they. succeeded,  should  do  so  in  entire 
independence  of  outside  help.  This  would,  of  course,  establish  the 
Transvaal  forever  on  a  firm  republican' basis  with  its  own  flag,  and  the 
British  Government  knew,  as  President  Kruger  ought  to  have  known, 
that  the  real  independence  of  the  Transvaal  would  be  more  secure  in 
that  event  than  before.  Obedient  to  instructions  from  Mr.  Rhodes  Dr. 
Harris  left  in  the  end  of  November  in  order  to  share  with  Mr.  Rhodes 
the  triumphal  entry  of  the  Imperialist  party  into  the  Transvaal.  From 
that  date  the  telegrams  from  London  to  Cape  Town  are  sent  by  Miss 
Shaw,  who  reveals  in  them  a  laudable  journalistic  ambition,  a  sense  of 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  453 

the  importance  of  the  European  newspaper  world  in  the  shaping  of 
public  sentiment  regarding  the  approaching  events  in  the  Transvaal. 
The  most  daring  and  deadly  of  her  messages  was  that  dated  December 
17,  1895,  which  contained  the  following  words:  "Chamberlain  sound 
in  case  of  interference  European  powers  but  have  special  reason  to 
believe  wishes  you  must  do  it  immediately."  Historical  or  literary 
critics  will  of  course  forever  be  unable  to  read  anything  out  of  that 
sentence  other  than  the  plain  fact  that,  whether  through  one  or  more 
intermediaries,  Mr.  Rhodes  was  in  actual  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Chamberlain  regarding  the  entire  transactions.  On  December  27,  Dr. 
Harris  sends  a  message  to  Miss  Shaw  in  which  he  says  that  there  are 
divisions  in  Johannesburg.  It  was  at  this  very  date  that  the  Johannes- 
burg reformers  found  themselves  once  more  roused  to  deep  suspicions 
regarding  the  ultimate  purpose  of  Mr.  Rhodes.  They  had  sent  off 
Messrs.  Leonard  and  Hamilton  on  Christmas  Day  to  Cape  Town  to  hold 
one  more  interview  with  Mr.  Rhodes.  On  Sunday  the  29th  the  deputa- 
tion sent  back  a  telegram  to  Johannesburg  saying,  "We  have  received 
perfectly  satisfactory  assurance  from  Cecil  Rhodes,  but  a  misunder- 
standing undoubtedly  exists  elsewhere.  In  our  opinion,  continue  prep- 
arations, but  carefully,  and  without  any  sort  of  hurry,  as  entirely  fresh 
departures  will  be  necessary  in  view  of  changed  condition.  Jameson 
has  been  advised  accordingly."  This  telegram  proves  that  Mr.  Rhodes 
had  not  fully  settled  the  suspicions  of  the  deputation  from  Johannes- 
burg, that  somehow  or  other  behind  his  protests  of  loyalty  to  them  they 
saw  signs  of  positive  interference  from  some  other  quarter  and  had  de- 
cided that  there  must  be  an  entire  revision  of  the  plans  of  the  revolution. 
Hence  their  anxiety  to  prevent  Dr.  Jameson  from  undertaking  any  rash 
enterprise.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  tells  us  that  at  once  at  Johannesburg  they 
began  to  alter  their  plans,  one  main  feature  of  their  new  proposals 
being  that  they  should  avoid  the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  by  an  armed 
force.  Instead  of  this  they  thought  of  bringing  in  a  large  number  of 
soldiers  under  the  disguise  of  mechanics  and  merchants.  This  they 
thought  could  be  speedily  done.  In  this  way,  or  ever  the  suspicions  of 
the  Government  at  Pretoria  were  aroused,  they  would  have  in  Johan- 
nesburg as  many  military  men  as  they  needed  for  its  effective  defence. 
While  Mr.  Rhodes  was  in  this  extraordinary  predicament,  Dr.  Jame- 


454  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

son  suddenly  broke  away  from  all  his  engagements,  overthrew  all  the 
plans  of  his  coadjutors  both  in  Cape  Town  and  Johannesburg,  plunged 
with  less  than  500  men  into  the  Transvaal  and  into  disaster.  It  was 
probably  the  most  crushing  blow  which  Mr.  Rhodes  had  ever  experi- 
enced. When  Mr.  W.  P.  Schreiner,  a  member  of  his  cabinet,  went  to 
see  him,  the  Prime  Minister  was  indeed  in  darkness.  It  is  said  that  he 
manifested  the  utmost  distress;  he  could  only  moan  as  if  with  living 
pain,  "Poor  old  Jameson,  twenty  years  we  have  been  friends,  and  now 
he  goes  in  and  ruins  me.  I  cannot  hinder  it.  I  cannot  go  and  destroy 
him.".  Nevertheless  his  courage  soon  returned.  IJe  telegraphed  to  Miss 
Shaw  on  December  30th  as  follows :  "Inform  Chamberlain  that  I  shall 
get  through  all  right  if  he  supports  me,  but  he  must  not  send  cables  like 
he  sent  to  the  High  Commissioner  in  South  Africa.  To-day  the  crux  is. 
I  will  win,  and  South  Africa  will  belong  to  England."  The  following 
day  Mr.  Rhodes  sent  another  telegram  to  London  urging  that  the  High 
Commissioner  should  at  once  be  sent  to  Johannesburg.  He  still  hoped 
that  on  his  arrival  there  he  would  have  a  splendid  reception,  that  the 
city  might  be  strong  enough  to  hold  out  against  the  Boers  and  the  posi- 
tion still  be  turned  to  the  advantage  of  England.  These  desperate  tele- 
grams show  that  Mr.  Rhodes  did  not  realize  how  completely  Dr.  Jame- 
son's movement  had  taken  the  Johannesburgers  by  surprise,  how  utterly 
unprepared  they  were  to  engage  in  active  warfare,  and  how  unwilling 
they  would  be  to  carry  on  a  fierce  struggle  if  persuaded  that  the  end 
must  be  the  handing  over  of  the  Transvaal  to  Great  Britain.  This  was 
not  statesmanship. 

It  is  very  difficult  indeed  to  understand  Mr.  Rhodes's  failure  to  grasp 
the  situation  throughout  these  transactions,  difficult  also  to  defend  his 
conduct  in  relation  to  them.  In  the  first  place,  of  course,  he  had  mani- 
festly and  egregiously  blundered;  his  attempt  to  drive  three  or  four 
coaches  at  once  had  ended  in  a  terrible  collapse.  He  could  not  at  the 
same  time  be  faithful  to  England  and  the  Bond  party  and  his  friends 
at  Johannesburg  and  his  responsibilities  in  Rhodesia.  It  must  be  frank- 
ly stated  that  all  who  highly  value  the  elevation  of  the  standard  of 
honor  amongst  public  men,  all  who  earnestly  desire  to  see  great  capital- 
ists and  great  statesmen  dealing  with  their  responsibilities  in  a  spirit 
of  sincerity  and  truth,  as  well  as  in  breadth  of  mind  and  largeness  of 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  455 

vision,  must  be  profoundly  thankful  that  Mr.  Rhodes's  scheme  of  com- 
plicated political  immoralities  failed  before  the  eyes  of  the  whole  world. 
It  is  impossible,  of  course,  not  to  pity  the  man  who  spent  his  dark  hours 
in  that  beautiful  house  near  Cape  Town  overwhelmed  by  the  sense  of 
personal  defeat  and  disgrace;  but  sympathy  with  the  human  sufferer 
is  perfectly  compatible  with  joy  over  the  facts  which  caused  the  suffer- 
ing. It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  splendid  courage  with  which  he 
immediately  laid  hold  upon  life  and  went  forth  to  pursue  his  vast  de- 
signs; but  this  admiration  is  compatible  with  a  deep  satisfaction  that 
wrongdoing  on  a  most  comprehensive  scale  had  been  exposed  to  the 
condemnation  of  the  conscience  of  all  men. 

The  first  steps  which  Mr.  Ehodes  took  when  he  found  that  the  move- 
ment in  the  Transvaal  was  a  complete  failure,  were  to  resign  his  office 
as  Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony  and  to  put  the  resignation  of  his  post 
as  managing  director  of  the  Chartered  Company  into  the  hands  of  the 
Directors.  Needless  to  say,  when  he  took  the  former  step  he  realized 
that  he  had  once  for  all  lost  the  confidence  of  the  Dutch  party  in  the 
Cape  Colony  with  whom  he  had  been  working  for  more  than  ten  years. 
Before  he  became  Prime  Minister  he  had  voted  steadily  for  the  plans 
presented  in  the  Cape  Parliament  to  forward  the  purpose  and  strengthen 
the  spirit  of  the  Dutch  population.  And  after  he  became  Prime  Minister 
he  pursued  the  same  course,  with  the  difference  that  now  he  was  pub- 
licly responsible  even  for  the  introduction  of  such  bills  to  the  considera- 
tion of  the  country.  The  lawrs  which  affected  the  sale  of  liquor  were  so 
altered  as  to  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  Dutch  districts  and  to  the  misery 
of  native  peoples,  and  Mr.  Rhodes  supported  these.  An  effort  was  made 
to  pass  a  law  prohibiting  the  sale  of  liquor  in  certain  native  districts 
and  Mr.  Rhodes  was  the  only  man  of  English  descent  who  voted  against 
it.  A  law  was  passed  which  very  seriously  altered  the  basis  of  the 
franchise.  It  did  indeed  recognize  equality  of  treatment  of  both  black 
and  white,  but  resulted  in  taking  the  franchise  from  thousands  of  black 
men  who  had  enjoyed  it  as  well  as  from  a  few  white  men,  the  "poor 
whites"  so  well-known  in  South  Africa.  This  was  one  of  the  most  power- 
ful strokes  ever  delivered  by  the  Dutch  party  in  South  Africa  against 
the  influence  of  the  British  spirit  in  the  Cape  Colonial  Legislature;  for 
it  was  a  notorious  fact  that  the  constituencies  which  contained  large 


456  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

numbers  of  native  voters  steadily  sent  anti-Dutch  representatives  to  the 
Parliament  and  many  of  them  were  represented  for  long  years  by  the 
best  members  of  the  House.  Mr.  Ehodes  supported  that  piece  of  pro- 
Dutch  and  anti-English  legislation.  When  the  well-known  Glen  Grey 
Act  wras  introduced  which  again  dealt  with  native  problems,  Mr.  Rhodes 
once  more  led  in  a  proceeding  which  represented  a  Dutch  rather  than 
an  English  sentiment.  Mr.  Rhodes  has  indeed  in  some  directions  shown 
great  wisdom  in  his  treatment  of  the  exceedingly  difficult  and,  indeed, 
tremendous  questions  regarding  the  control  and  uplifting  of  the  native 
races  in  South  Africa;  but  he  has  also  in  other  directions  been  respon- 
sible for  legislation  and  even  for  administration  which,  while  it  no 
doubt  pleased  the  supporters  of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  displeased  no 
less  surely  those  who  regarded  these  problems  from  the  typical  English 
point  of  view. 

Through  this  long  course  of  sympathetic  action  with  them  Mr. 
Ehodes  had  apparently  won  the  complete  trust  of  the  Dutch  party.  They 
had  at  times  in  return  for  all  these  favors  followed  him  in  his  attempts 
to  wring  privileges  from  the  unwilling  hands  of  President  Kruger, 
especially  when  these  would  benefit  Cape  Colony.  But  now  when  the 
Raid  had  exposed  all  to  view,  and  they  found  that  Mr.  Rhodes  had  used 
his  position  at  Cape  Town  to  plot  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Dutch  oligar- 
chy in  the  Transvaal,  his  allies  rose  in  unmitigated  and  undying  wrath 
against  him.  In  fact,  the  man  who  had  for  many  years  been  proclaimed 
without  much  reason  as  the  unifier  of  the  two  races  did  at  this  time 
strike  the  heaviest  blow  against  that  union  and  drove  the  races  further 
apart  than  they  had  ever  been  since  1835. 

In  the  year  1897  Mr.  Rhodes  returned  to  England  to  give  evidence 
before  the  Select  Committee  regarding  the  Jameson  Raid.  He  began 
his  journey  from  Rhodesia,  travelled  to  Beira,  thence  by  boat  to  Durban 
and  Pt.  Elizabeth.  At  Pt.  Elizabeth  he  was  in  one  of  the  strongest 
centers  of  British  loyalists  in  South  Africa,  and  here  he  was  received 
with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  He  ended  his  speech  with  the  significant 
assertion:  "I  do  not  propose  to  close  my  public  career  and  I  am  still 
determined  to  strive  for  the  closer  union  of  South  Africa."  From  Pt. 
Elizabeth  to  Cape  Town  Mr.  Rhodes's  progress  was  something  after  the 
style  of  a  triumphal  procession.  In  one  of  his  speeches  during  this 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  457 

return  journey  he  used  an  expression  which  has  ever  been  regarded  as 
one  of  the  most  cynical  that  could  be  uttered  by  a  man  in  his  position. 
When  speaking  of  his  going  to  London  and  the  sentiment  of  Great  Brit- 
ain which  he  would  have  to  encounter,  he  spoke  of  it  as  an  "unctuous 
righteousness"  with  which  he  must  take  account.  The  phrase  is  one 
of  the  most  offensive  which  can  be  applied  to  any  man  or  community. 
It  was  not  only  ludicrous  when  used  by  Mr.  Rhodes  in  his  circumstances, 
it  was  a  revelation  to  the  whole  world  of  an  apparent  incapacity  to  look 
upon  the  situation  from  the  moral  standpoint.  To  him  it  appeared  as 
if  the  indignation  of  Englishmen  at  his  conduct  proceeded  from  a  super- 
ficial and  hypocritical  profession  of  righteousness,  which  to  his  eye, 
perhaps,  held  concealed  a  desire  that  he  had  succeeded.  It  looks  as  if 
Mr.  Rhodes  has  never  been  able  to  realize  that  even  although  his  plan 
had  succeeded,  multitudes  of  his  fellow  citizens,  if  they  had  discovered 
the  story,  which  indeed  success  might  have  hidden  forever  from  view, 
would  have  felt  deeply  disgraced.  He  apparently  has  no  feeling  for  the 
judgment  of  the  civilized  world  that  men  holding  the  high  positions 
which  he  and  his  coadjutors  occupied  committed  a  great  crime  against 
the  honor  of  their  own  country  in  having  deliberately  undertaken  the 
Jameson  plan. 

When  Mr.  Rhodes  appeared  before  the  Select  Committee  he  took 
up  a  position  which,  while  puzzling  to  many  at  the  time,  it  is  impossi- 
ble not  to  admire.  He  said  to  a  friend  before  the  inquiry  began  that  it 
was  not  his  intention  to  betray  the  part  which  the  Colonial  Secretary 
had  taken  in  the  plot.  "He  has  stuck  to  me,"  Mr.  Rhodes  said  to  this 
friend,  "how  can  I  go  and  give  him  away?"  Mr.  Rhodes  accordingly 
adopted  the  very  effective  plan  of  declining  to  answer  all  those  ques- 
tions which  he  could  not  answer  truthfully  without  letting  the  real  facts 
regarding  the  Colonial  Office  leap  into  public  light.  He  rather  endured 
the  scorn  which  the  Committee  heaped  upon  him,  and  he  very  bravely 
faced  the  personal  obloquy  which  was  increased  by  his  concealment  of 
the  facts/  He  even  allowed  the  inquiry  to  be  completed  and  the  final 
Report,  which  so  completely  condemned  his  conduct  and  blackened  his 
name,  to  be  drawn  up  and  to  be  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons. 
From  that  day  to  this  he  has  remained  absolutely  silent  on  the  whole 
matter.  In  spite  of  the  frequent  and  prolonged  discussions  in  the  House 


458  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

and  in  the  newspapers  and  by  the  general  public,  he  has  held  very  firmly 
and  steadfastly  to  the  policy  which  he  announced  before  the  inquiry 
began.  He  will  not  Butter  one  word  to  relieve  himself  of  any  portion  of 
the  burden  of  blame  by  laying  it  upon  those  who  were  higher  in  office 
than  himself.  Mr.  Chamberlain  did  his  best,  when  the  Report  was 
presented  before  the  House,  to  shield  his  former  coadjutor,  and  his 
deliverer,  from  the  worst  form  of  public  condemnation.  In  spite  of  his 
agreement  with  the  Report  which  so  thoroughly  condemned  Mr.  Rhodes, 
he  stood  up  to  deny  that  the  personal  honor  of  Mr.  Rhodes  had  been  in 
any  wise  traduced.  If  by  the  words  "personal  honor"  he  meant  that 
Mr.  Rhodes  had  not  aimed  at  the  mere  making  of  money  or  had  not 
stooped  to  the  utterance  of  lies,  he  may  have  been  right,  though  many 
doubt.  Perhaps  Mr.  Rhodes  would  not  have  undertaken  his  tremendous 
task  merely  to  add  to  his  bank  account.  But  if  the  phrase  "personal 
honor"  is  extended  beyond  these  ideas  to  the  observance  of  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  high  office  and  the  avoidance  of  concealed  and 
treacherous  uses  of  public  office  even  for  public  ends,  it  is  hard  to  say 
that  Mr.  Chamberlain's  words  can  be  defended.  At  the  same  time  Mr. 
Chamberlain  was  undoubtedly  saved  awhile  by  the  loyal  silence  of  Mr. 
Rhodes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MR.   RHODES  SINCE  THE    RAID. 

WHEN  the  Johannesburg  plot  had  become  a  fiasco,  when  Mr. 
Rhodes  had  ceased  to  be  Prime  Minister  and  when  he  had  re- 
signed his  position  as  Managing  Director  of  the  Chartered 
Company  he  yet  remained  the  most  powerful  Director  of  that  Company, 
and  one  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  South  Africa.  He  immediately  left 
the  Cape  Colony  and  proceeded  to  Buluwayo  where  he  undertook  the 
carrying  out  of  variousi  practical  schemes  for  the  development  of 
Rhodesia.  In  a  short  while,  however,  he  was  summoned  by  his  fellow 
Directors  to  England.  He  made  a  hurried  journey  and  had  interviews 
not  only  with  the  Directors  of  the  Company  but  with  Mr.  Chamberlain. 
Much  had  to  be  done  in  reorganizing  the  directorate  and  the  work  of  the 
Company,  for  it  was  soon  seen  that  one  or  two  of  the  Directors,  includ- 
ing the  Duke  of  Fife,  by  reason  of  their  high  station  could  no  longer 
compromise  themselves  and  others  by  remaining  on  that  board.  He 
also  had  interviews  with  Mr.  Chamberlain. 

Finding  that  no  practical  steps  were  to  be  taken  in  England  soon, 
he  started  again  for  Rhodesia,  reaching  Africa  at  Beira  and  traveling 
into  his  own  country  from  that  point.  Not  long  after  his  arrival  the 
terrible  rebellion  of  the  Matabele  took  place,  when  many  of  the  whites, 
men,  women  and  children,  were  massacred.  Mr.  Rhodes  entered  in  the 
month  of  May  with  a  relief  force  from  Mashonaland  and  reached  Bulu- 
wayo, the  capital,  in  June.  He  was  present  at  several  of  the  engage- 
ments which  took  place.  After  a  number  of  these  had  been  fought  it 
became  evident  to  Mr.  Rhodes  that  with  the  comparatively  small  forces 
at  his  disposal  General  Carrington  would  be  unable  to  bring  the  war 
to  a  speedy  close.  He  accordingly  proposed  that  he  himself  should  try 
to  arrange  matters  with  the  native  chiefs  who  had  retired  to  the  Matop- 
po  Hills  and  occupied  practically  impregnable  positions  there.  It  was 
a  brave  deed,  and  it  greatly  impressed  not  only  the  English  but  the 
natives  who  beheld  it.  Mr.  Rhodes  walked  into  the  presence  of  the 

459 


460  CECIL  /.  RHODES. 

leading  induna  or  chief  of  the  Matabele.  After  a  preliminary  discussion 
Mr.  Rhodes  suddenly  and  peremptorily  asked,  "Is  it  peace  or  war?" 
The  induna  lifting  his  stick  and  holding  it  high  above  his  head  ex- 
claimed, "This  is  my  gun,  I  throw  it  at  your  feet."  Other  indunas  fol- 
lowed his  example  and  it  was  peace.  When  Mr.  Rhodes  had  further  ex- 
plained the  situation,  when  he  had  heard  their  grievances  and  prom- 
ised to  redress  them  one  of  the  indunas  summed  the  matter  up  thus:  "It 
is  good,  my  father,  you  have  trusted  us,  and  we  have  spoken.  We  are 
all  here  to-day  and  our  voice  is  the  voice  of  the  nation.  We  are  the 
mouths  and  ears  of  the  people.  We  give  you  one  word.  It  is  peace.  The 
war  is  over.  We  will  not  break  our  word;  we  have  spoken."  From 
that  day  the  Matabele  chiefs  have  kept  their  word,  as,  on  the  other  hand, 
from  that  day  they  have  been  more  kindly  treated  and  more  intelligently 
ruled.  There  seems  every  prospect  under  the  new  method  of  govern- 
ment which  has  been  instituted,  and  which  places  adequate  checks  by 
means  of  direct  Imperial  officers  upon  the  legislation  and  administration 
of  the  Chartered  Company,  that  the  Matabele  may  never  again  have 
complaints  serious  enough  to  cause  a  rebellion  and  may  be  gradually 
led  into  the  ways  of  civilization. 

Mr.  Rhodes  selected  for  himself  a  farm  at  the  foot  of  the  Matoppo 
Hills,  where  he  built  a  strange  residence.  It  looks  like  a  series  of  native 
huts  exceptionally  well  built  and  connected  with  one  another  so  as  to 
form  the  rooms  of  one  house.  Here  Mr.  Rhodes  is  apt  to  retire  when 
formal  and  fashionable  functions  are  going  on  at  Buluwayo,  which  he 
does  not  desire  to  attend. 

It  was  in  1897,  as  we  have  seen,  that  Mr.  Rhodes  returned  to  England 
to  give  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee. 

Since  then  Mr.  Rhodes  has  been  principally  occupied  with  the  devel- 
opment of  Rhodesia  and  with  his  scheme  for  connecting  Cape  Town  with 
Cairo  by  means  of  both  a  telegraph  line  and  a  railroad.  In  the  further- 
ance of  this  tremendous  scheme  he  has  paid  one  or  two  visits  to  Europe. 
On  one  of  these  he  made  a  famous  journey  to  Brussels  and  thence  to 
Berlin  in  order  to  negotiate  with  the  King  of  Belgium  and  with  the 
German  Emperor  regarding  a  certain  portion  of  the  line  which  in 
order  to  pass  from  one  British  boundary  to  another  must  cross  either  the 
Congo  Free  State,  which  is  under  Belgian  control,  or  German  East 


CECIL  L  RHODES,  463 

Africa.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  concession  from  the  German  Gov- 
ernment which  enables  him  to  proceed  with  the  Trans-Continental 
Telegraph  which  will  so  soon  connect  North  Africa  with  South  Africa. 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Rhodes  has  deeply  felt  the  neglect  of  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  to  consult  him  during  the  negotiations  of  last  year.  Like  every- 
one else  he  believes  that  the  war  ought  to  have  been  avoided,  but  like 
the  very  great  majority  of  English  people  who  know  South  Africa  well, 
he  believes  that  the  Boer  Government  have  for  years  been  working 
towards  a  great  war  that  should  cast  British  authority  entirely  from 
South  African  shores.  He  therefore  is  inclined  to  believe  that  unless 
negotiations  had  succeeded  which  would  have  gradually  given  the  pro- 
gressive party  in  the  Tra'nsvaal  the  upper  hand  and  so  broken  Mr. 
Kruger's  dream,  the  war  was  inevitable. 

As  soon  as  the  war  broke  out  Mr.  Rhodes,  with  characteristic  audac- 
ity, went  to  Kimberley.  How  much  preparation  he  had  made  for  a 
siege  of  that  town  no  one  at  present  knows.  His  arrival  there  directed, 
of  course,  the  attention  of  the  Boers  with  greater  joy  and  determination 
towards  the  task  of  capturing  it.  Mr.  Rhodes,  it  is  said,  despatched  a 
message  announcing  that  he  was  as  safe  in  Kimberley  as  in  Picadilly. 
Subsequent  events  may  have  sometimes  shaken  his  belief  in  that  asser- 
tion. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  presence  in  Kimberley  has  proved 
of  enormous  value  to  the  citizens,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  may  have 
doubled  the  efforts  of  the  Boers  to  conquer  the  place.  He  has  met 
with  great  energy  the  task  of  controlling  the  large  native  population 
who  were  shut  up  in  the  town  by  the  Boer  army  and  whom  the  latter 
would  not  allow  to  leave.  It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Rhodes  set  them 
to  work  to  lay  out  a  new  suburb,  to  open  new  streets  and  plant  trees. 
One  of  the  avenues,  the  world  has  heard,  will  be  named  Siege  Avenue. 

Shortly  after  the  siege  ended  the  annual  meeting  of  the  De  Beers 
Company  took  place,  and  at  this  meeting  Mr.  Rhodes  made  a  remarkable 
speech.  He  announced  that  once  more  the  Company  had  made  the  enor- 
mous sum  of  £2,000,000  profits  (about  f  10,000,000).  He  further  made 
public  the  remarkable  fact  that  arrangements  had  been  made  between 
the  De  Beers  Company  and  the  Chartered  Company  by  which  the  De 
Beers  Company  will  own  all  the  diamond  mines  that  may  be  discovered 


464  CECIL  J.  RHODES. 

in  any  territory  where  the  Chartered  Company  extends  its  operations. 
He  then  once  more  referred  to  his  favorite  idea  eoncerning  the  two  great 
classes  of  people,  namely,  those  who  amass  and  spend  their  wealth  with- 
out imagination  and  those  who  make  it  the  servant  of  their  imagination. 
The  unimaginative,  by  which  he  means  those  who  form  no  large  and 
unselfish  ideals,  simply  use  their  money  upon  themselves  and  their 
families  and  leave  it  to  their  children.  The  imaginative  class  of  share- 
holders in  the  De  Beers  Company  will  dwell  upon  the  thought  that  a 
hundred  years  hence  the  mines  which  it  still  controls  shall  still  be  send- 
ing forth  their  treasures  into  the  world,  enriching  South  Africa  and 
other  regions  and  contributing  through  an  indefinite  period  to  the 
building  up  of  civilization.  Referring  to  tke  war,  he  declared  that  the 
two  Dutch  States  were  not  Republics  but  oligarchies,  and  roundly  assert- 
ed that  they  had  been  long  conspiring  to  subjugate  British  South  Africa. 
Each  Government  consists  simply  of  a  political  gang  who  deceive  the 
poor  and  ignorant  Dutchmen  by  appealing  to  their  patriotism  and  urg- 
ing them  to  war,  while  dividing  the  spoils  of  the  administration  among 
themselves  and  their  friends.  He  made  the  remarkable  statement 
which,  coming  from  Mr.  Rhodes,  seems  to  be  as  significant  concerning 
his  own  past  as  concerning  those  whom  he  accused.  He  asserted  that 
the  Afrikanders,  meaning  the  Dutch,  had  been  working  for  independ- 
ence for  twenty  years  and  made  the  statement,  which  will  no  doubt 
astonish  some,  while  it  is  no  surprise  to  those  who  know  South  Africa, 
that  Mr.  Reitz,  the  former  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  the  pres- 
ent Secretary  of  the  Transvaal,  the  very  one  who  conducted  the  nego- 
tiations with  Mr.  Chamberlain  all  last  year,  said:  "Years  ago  I  vowed 
that  my  only  ambition  in  life  was  to  drive  England  out  of  Africa."  Then 
rising  to  his  climax,  Mr.  Rhodes  said:  "We  have  done  our  duty  in  pre- 
serving and  protecting  the  greatest  commercial  asset  in  the  world— 
Her  Majesty's  flag." 

The  survey  of  Mr.  Rhodes's  character  and  career  which  we  have  made 
will  suffice,  no  doubt,  to  convince  every  reader  that  in  him  we  have  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  and  powerful  personalities  of  our  day.  The 
breadth  and  boldness  of  his  plans  must  be  universally  acknowledged 
even  by  those  who  dislike  them.  The  strength  of  purpose,  the  untiring 
enthusiasm  with  which  he  seeks  to  realize  them  are  indisputable. 


CECIL  J.  RHODES.  465 

He  knows  how  to  spend  money  lavishly  on  enterprises  which  bring 
him  no  personal  return  but  which  serve  to  further  the  social  and  politi- 
cal objects  which  he  has  in  view.  He  has  spent  thousands  of  pounds 
in  attempting  to  find  a  cure  for  the  phylloxera  which  destroys  the  vines 
of  South  Africa.  He  has  spent  money  in  experiments  upon  stock  raising 
with  a  view  to  the  development  of  the  best  forms  of  stock  farming  in 
Cape  Colony,  Rhodesia  and  other  parts  of  South  Africa.  He  is  no 
miser,  nor  is  he  niggardly  in  his  business  methods.  Mr.  Rhodes  has 
also  shown  to  the  world  that  he  knows  how  to  stand  by  his  friends  even 
at  great  cost  to  himself.  He  has  refused  to  desert  those  who  had  failed 
or  disappointed  or  even  betrayed.him.  He  knows  also  in  some  directions 
how  not  to  forgive,  wrhich  shows  that  he  is  not  completely  generous. 

The  side  of  Mr.  Rhodes's  career  which  seems  most  open  to  criticism 
and  has  been  most  severely  condemned  by  close  students  of  his  work 
and  influence,  is  that  which  concerns  the  methods  which  he  is  willing 
to  employ  and  the  treatment  of  his  fellowmen  which  he  thinks  necessary 
and  justifiable  in  order  to  attain  his  ends.  On  the  whole,  it  must  be 
not  without  regret  acknowledged  that  he  is,  in  his  estimate  of  the 
honor  of  men,  a  cold  cynic.  He  not  only  believes  but  acts  upon  the  belief 
that  men  can  be  bought  and  that  it  is  right  to  buy  them,  that  men  can 
be  manipulated  in  the  political  as  well  as  in  the  commercial  world,  and 
he  has  manipulated  them  or  attempted  to  do  so  freely  and  constantly. 
His  fatal  policy  of  establishing  prematurely  a  colonial  imperialism  was 
really  born  of  his  inveterate  idea  that  men  can.  be  manipulated.  For, 
in  South  Africa,  this  policy  necessitated  at  once  the  pretence  to  the 
Dutch  party  that  they  were  in  control  of  the  affairs  of  South  Africa  and 
to  the  British  Government  the  pretence  that  by  leaving  all  South 
African  affairs  to  the  Cape  Colony,  Imperial  interests  would?  be  best 
served.  The  entire  story  of  the  Raid  is,  of  course,  the  story  of  manip- 
ulation. 

One  of  the  questions  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  many  when  they 
think  of  the  close  of  the  present  war  is  with  regard  to  the  future  of  Mr. 
Rhodes.  Everyone  feels  that  much  will  depend  upon  the  position  which 
he  is  about  to  occupy  as  a  political  factor  in  South  Africa.  Many  won- 
der what  share  he  will  have,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  determining  the 
policy  of  the  British  Government  henceforth  in  South  Africa. 


BOOK  III. 


STEPHANUS  JOHANNES  PAULUS  KRUGER. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE    EARLIER    LIFE    OF    MR.  KRUGER. 

THE  ordinary  notion  that  the  Dutch  of  South  Africa  are  a  homo- 
geneous race  derived  from  Holland  is  a  mistaken  one.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Holland  was  in  the  seventeenth  century  an  asylum  for 
European  refugees  of  different  nationalities.  Thither  Spanish  Jews  had 
been  fleeing  from  earlier  times,  and  thither  the  French  Huguenots 
crowded  for  shelter  from  their  persecutors.  There  also  the  persecuted 
Puritans  of  England  found  a  resting  place  and  freedom  to  worship  their 
God  as  they  saw  right.  The  Dutch  East  India  Company  profited  as  a 
commercial  organization  by  this  influx  of  strangers  and  foreigners. 
Their  officers  entered  into  negotiations  from  time  to  time  through  their 
government  with  these  homeless  people,  and  proposed  that  they  should 
volunteer  for  service  of  the  Company  in  South  Africa.  No  doubt  the 
splendid  climate,  the  natural  beauty,  and  the  remoteness  from  hostile 
attack  of  the  new  southern  world  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  were  all 
persuasivety  described  to  them.  The  result  was  that  South  Africa  re- 
ceived many  Germans  and  French  as  well  as  at  a  later  time  large  num- 
bers of  English  and  Scotch  people  as  immigrants  and  settlers. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  in  the  year  1713  there  were 
sent  out  by  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  amongst  others,  one  Jacob 
Kruger,  who  came  from  Berlin,  and  who,  having  settled  in  South  Africa, 
there  married  and  had  eighteen  children.  From  him,  therefore,  have 
descended  most  of  the  long, list  of  Krugers  who  inhabit  Cape  Colony,  the 
Orange  Free  State,  the  Transvaal,  and  other  parts  of  South  Africa. 
Large  families  seem  to  be  one  feature  of  the  Kruger  connection,  for  in- 
termediate between  Jacob  and  the  President  there  was  another  who  had 
twelve  children,  while  President  Kruger  himself  has  sixteen.  The  father 
of  the  President  was  one  Caspar  Jan  Hendrik  Kruger,  who  was  born  in 
1796.  He  married  into  the  family  of  Steyn,  so  that  the  two  Presidents 
of  the  Dutch  Republics  at  this  time  are  able  to  claim  some  kind  of  blood 
relationship  with  one  another.  The  hero  of  our  sketch,  Stephanus  Johan- 

469 


470  THE   EARLIER  LIFE  OF  MR,  KRUGER. 

nes  Paulus  Kruger,  was  born  at  the  little  town  of  Colesberg,  on  October 
10, 1825.  This  town,  which  has  for  long  been  in  the  Colony,  a  little  south 
of  the  border  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  has  attained  fame  in  the  course 
of  the  present  war.  Mr.  Reginald  Statham,  who  has  written  the  fullest 
biography  of  President  Kruger,  says  that  Paul  Kruger  was  not  the  eldest 
of  the  family,  and  adds,  curiously,  "He  had  at  least  a  sister,  some  six 
years  older  than  himself."  When  young  Paulus  was  about  ten  years  of 
age  his  family  "trekked."  First  they  passed  north  into  the  Orange  Free 
State;  there  in  a  short  time  they,  with  their  large  company,  came  into  con- 
tact with  Moselekatse,  and  Paulus,  as  a  young  boy,  had  his  first  taste  of 
actual  war.  When  the  small  band  of  fifty  white  men  were  surrounded  in 
their  laager  by  many  thousands  of  fierce  and  ruthless  savages,  they  were 
assisted  energetically  by  their  wives  and  daughters,  who  cleaned  and 
loaded  their  guns  and  in  other  ways  helped  those  who  were  actively  fight- 
ing. It  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  at  this  time  young  Paul  himself  handled 
a  gun  and  did  his  best  to  shoot  down  some  of  the  dusky  warriors  who 
rushed  upon  them.  He  early  became  noted  for  great  physical  strength 
and  untiring  activity,  and  must  have  displayed  considerable  ability, 
judging  by  the  early  promotion  which  he  received.  No  doubt  his  educa- 
tion was  scantily  snatched  up  at  rare  intervals  as  Ms  elders  tried  to 
teach  him  the  simple  rudiments  of  reading  and  writing.  He  learned 
enough  to  read  his  Bible,  and,  as  is  well  known,  that  book  has  formed 
the  sustenance  of  his  intellectual  as  well  as  spiritual  life  throughout  his 
career.  When  he  was  about  seventeen  years  of  age  he  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  assistant  Veldt-Cornet  and  three  years  later  he  was  made 
Veldt-Cornet.  About  this  time  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  commando, 
who  proceeded  to  the  northwest  to  attack  various  Bechuana  tribes. 

Paul  Kruger,  like  most  of  his  countrymen,  ^married  while  still  a  very 
young  man.  His  wife  belonged  to  the  family  of  Steyn,  of  which  the 
President  of  the  Orange  Free  State  is  a  member.  This  young  wife  died 
before  long.  Some  time  thereafter  he  married  her  niece,  who  still  lives 
and  who  has  had  sixteen  children.  She  is  said  to  be  a  woman  of  remark- 
able gifts,  but  is  forced  by  the  customs  of  her  people  to  live  in  obscurity. 
She  seldom  appears  in  public,  is  not  allowed  by  her  husband  to  discuss 
politics,  is  prevented  by  tradition  even  from  sitting  down  at  dinner  with 
him.  It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  restrained  her  from  engaging  in 


THE  EARLIER  LIFE  OF  MR.  KRUGER.  471 

„• 

a  political  discussion  with,  the  remark  that  if  she  listened  to  all  that 
people  were  saying  about  politics,  she  would  just  be  led  away  like  the 
Outlanders.  Nevertheless,  Mrs.  Kruger  is  known  to  possess  a  tender 
heart,  and  if  only  the  conditions  of  domestic  life  amongst  the  Boers  had 
been  more  civilized,  if  they  had  allowed  as  much,  freedom  even  as  Eng- 
land and  America  enjoyed  in  the  seventeenth  century,  she  would  have 
won  the  affections  and  the  personal  admiration  of  the  people.  At  the 
time  when  a  large  part  of  Johannesburg  was  destroyed  by  the  great 
dynamite  explosion  and  many  lives  were  lost,  Mrs.  Kruger  could  not 
restrain  her  feelings  of  compassion,  even  though  she  knew  enough  to 
know  that  her  husband  had  no  love  for  Johannesburgers.  "Oh,  it  hurts 
my  heart  to  think  of  it,"  she  said ;  "it  hurts  my  heart  to  think  of  it."  So 
seriously  did  this  calamity  of  the  foreigners  affect  her,  that  she  became 
ill  with  grief  and  fretting.  She,  like  many  Boer  ladies,  has  had  naturally 
considerable  experience  in  treating  cases  of  illness  and  has  gained  a 
certain  skill  in  the  use  of  simple  medicines.  These  are  chiefly  made 
from  plants,  and  as  a  herbalist  she  has  some  reputation  amongst  her 
people.  It  is  said  that  the  only  time  when  she  has  her  own  way  with  the 
President  is  when  he  is  ill.  Then  it  has  been  her  lifelong  custom  to 
shut  him  up  in  his  room  in  solitude  and  dose  him  with  her  simples  and 
mixtures  till  his  mighty  constitution  reasserts  itself.  Eurnor  has  it  that 
some  of  the  Holland  officials  at  Pretoria  were,  wrhen  they  first  came, 
induced  to  put  their  ailments  under  the  care  of  the  President's  wife. 
The  experience  was  peculiar.  When,  therefore,  one  of  them  nowT-a-days 
tries  to  escape  work  by  pleading  ill-health  the  President  comes  down  on 
him  by  saying,  "  Ja,  ja,  you  must  have  a  little  of  my  wife's  senna."  This 
is  said  usually  to  produce  an  immediate  recovery  of  health,  and  Oom 
Paul  chuckles  as  he  sees  his  victim  go  off  to  his  work. 

But  Mrs.  Kruger  possesses  in  a  curious  intensity  the  conservative 
instincts  of  the  Doppers.  She  cares  for  nothing  new.  To  her,  as  to  her 
husband,  the  advent  of  the  multitude  of  foreigners  and  foreign  ways  is 
a  perplexity  and  a  pain.  She  will  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  idea  of 
progress  and  the  instruments  of  civilization.  When  the  railroad  reached 
Johannesburg  she  was  urged  to  go  down  to  see  the  first  train  arrive.  "No, 
my  child,"  she  said,  "I  have  grown  to  be  an  old  woman  without  seeing 
these  things;  why  should  I  look  at  them  now?"  Her  domestic  cares 


472  THE  EARLIER  LIFE  OF  MR.  KRUGER. 

•« . 

occupy  her  entirely,  of  which  the  chief  one  naturally  is  the  task  of  pre- 
paring the  daily  meals.  These  are  always  simple  but  always  abundant. 
The  President,  while  a  good  eater,  is  remarkably  abstemious  in  the  mat- 
ter of  alcohol.  Coffee  he  drinks  in  large  quantities  and  he  smokes  to- 
bacco incessantly ;  but  alcohol  he  uses  with  great  care,  and  drunkenness 
he  absolutely  loathes.  One  day  a  government  clerk  was  slightly  the  wTorse 
of  liquor,  entered  the  executive  chamber  and  came  too  close  to  the  Presi- 
dent looking  for  a  paper.  The  latter  turned  upon  him  in  an  immediate 
passion.  "Go  out  of  the  room,  sir,"  roared  the  old  lion,  "you  stink !"  A 
peculiar  little  incident  of  Dopper  bigotry  and  domestic  tyranny  is  told 
of  the  President  in  connection  with  the  rigid  custom  held  by  their  sect 
that  while  worshipping  God  women  must  have  their  heads  covered. 
This  applies  even  to  the  act  of  worship  in  the  saying  of  grace  before  and 
after  meals.  Two  of  the  President's  granddaughters,  bright  girls  who 
had  been  educated  in  Europe  and  felt  themselves  emancipated  from  some 
of  these  notions,  did  not  wear  their  hats  for  the  opening  grace  at  a  dinner 
which  was  attended  by  their  grandfather,  the  President.  When  it  came 
to  the  closing  grace  he  turned  and  said,  "  Ja,  ja,  you  put  on  your  hats,  the 
lot  of  you."  The  command  was,  of  course,  obeyed;  but,  alas!  so  eman- 
cipated were  they  that  their  hats  were  not  even  in  the  room,  and  the 
poor  women  wore  table  napkins  for  the  occasion  as  an  improvised  head- 
dress. 

In  or  about  the  year  1850  there  came  a  crisis  in  the  inner  life  of  young 
Paul  Kruger.  The  story  goes  that  under  the  sway  of  deep  religious  in- 
terest he  left  his  home  without  explanation  and  remained  out  among  the 
hills  night  and  day  for  some  days.  When  he  came  back  the  battle  was 
fought,  he  had  entered  upon  the  life  of  faith  from  which  he  has  never  since 
swerved.  While  belief  in  the  existence  of  God  and  his  actual  Providence 
is  held  firmly  by  practically  all  of  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal,  it  is  by 
no  means  all  to  whom  this  belief  becomes  a  living  fact  of  the  soul  and  a 
means  of  personal  religious  experience.  It  must  therefore  be  held  that 
the  reality  and  force  of  this  event  in  his  life  helped  very  largely  to  give 
that  strength  of  purpose,  that  lofty  patriotism,  that  profound  con- 
fidence in  the  favor  of  God  which  have  characterized  President  Kruger 
throughout  his  career.  The  form  of  piety  which  is  dear  to  Paul  Kruger 
is  that  which  many  describe  by  the  word  "mystic."  By  this  it  is  meant 


THE  EARLIER  LIFE  OF  MR.  KRUGER.  473 

that  he  believes  not  only  in  the  light  of  the  Scriptures  without  him,  but 
in  an  immediate  and  direct  shining  of  the  spirit  of  God  inwardly  upon  his 
own  heart.  He  is  in  direct  communion  with  the  eternal  Jehovah  who 
communicates  his  will  to  him  and  directs  his  life.  This,  of  course,  is 
eminently  a  Christian  doctrine,  but  it  is  held  by  Christians  ordinarily 
with  other  views  of  Scripture  which  prevent  certain  elements  in  it  from 
becoming  dangerous.  Many  of  the  most  famous  fanatics  of  the  East  have 
believed  themselves  to  be  thus  illumined  with  the  immediate  light  of 
God,  have  believed  themselves  to  be  the  direct  instruments  of  God,  have 
believed  themselves  to  be  guaranteed  by  him  against  error  and  against 
defeat.  Something  of  this  fanatical  type  of  mysticism  has  ever  charac- 
terized Paul  Kruger.  He  can  look  back  over  a  most  remarkable  life, 
tracing  it  from  the  time  when  at  ten  years  of  age  with  a  small  company 
of  brave  men  he  resisted  the  onslaught  of  the  Matabele  hordes  to  the 
hour  when  the  Almighty  put  Dr.  Jameson  into  his  hand.  Through  that 
long  life  of  exciting  events  how  many  battles  with  fierce  native  tribes 
has  he  fought,  how  many  hair-breadth  escapes  has  he  made!  It  is  said 
that  he  has  never  been  wounded  except  once  by  accident  wThen  his  own 
gun  shot  his  thumb  away.  And  yet  his  clothing  has  been  pierced  over 
and  over  again  with  bullets.  Indeed,  so  remarkable  have  been  his  escapes 
that  some  of  the  natives  think  him  to  be  possessed  of  a  charmed  life. 
Moreover,  Mr.  Kruger,  from  the  time  when  at  thirty  years  of  age  he  be- 
gan his  career  as  an  agitator  and  leader  of  the  Doppers,  has  seen  all  his 
great  schemes  successfully  carried  through  and  his  highest  personal  am- 
bitions achieved.  Little  wonder  is  it  if,  with  the  intensity  of  his  faith, 
the  boldness  of  his  plans  and  the  remarkable  success  of  nearly  all  his 
undertakings,  he  has  come  to  regard  himself  as  under  a  peculiar  and 
direct  Providence  which  guarantees  to  him  the  Tightness  of  all  his  pur- 
poses and  the  certainty  of  success  in  their  pursuit.  This,  of  course,  is 
a  noble  kind  of  life,  presenting  on  one  side  a  remarkable  beauty  and 
thrilling  attractiveness  to  every  one  in  whom  religious  instincts  are  quick. 
But  his  future  biographers  will  ask  themselves  whether  or  not  the  grim 
old  President,  so  sure  that  he  is  always  right  and  that  the  Almighty  God 
will  prove  it  before  the  eyes  of  a  sceptical  world ;  so  sure  that  his  people 
are  the  Israelites  and  the  Kaffirs  the  Canaanites  and  the  land  is  intended 
for  the  Israelites  by  the  living  God;  so  sure  that  all  Outlanders  are  as 


474  THE  EARLIER  LIFE  OF  MR.  KRUGER. 

Egyptians  and  Assyrians  and  all  their  intrigues  and  their  conventions 
like  attacks  of  the  wolf  on  the  fold — has  been  misled  by  the  very  intensity 
and  vividness  of  these  convictions.  Undoubtedly  the  hold  which  the 
President  has  upon  his  people  through  his  Dopper  constituency  explains 
in  part  the  obstinacy  of  his  opposition  to  all  proposals  of  generous  deal-/ 
ings  with  the  Outlanders.  Undoubtedly  also  that  unwillingness  to  take 
advice,  to  yield  to  the  criticism  of  proposals  even  by  fellow  countrymen 
like  Joubert,  is  in  part  due  to  the  strength  of  his  faith  that  what  he  sees 
to  be  right  is  the  command  of  God,  and  that  God  is  pledged  to  support 
him  in  the  doing  of  it. 


CHAPTER  II. 
MR.   KRUGER    AND    TRANSVAAL    POLITICS. 

DURING  these  years  Mr.  Kruger  formed  one  allieince  which  though 
primarily  of  a  religious  or  ecclesiastical  nature  has  proved  to  be 
of  the  utmost  political  importance.  The  Transvaal  Boers,  while 
all  belonging  to  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  fell  into  discussion  over 
matters  of  doctrine  and  practice,  which  ended  in  the  division  of  their 
church  into  at  least  three  portions.  One  of  these,  which  comprises  the 
most  rigid  and  conservative  elements,  is  called  the  Dopper  Church.  The 
Doppers  have  for  their  distinctive  outward  feature  the  simplicity  of  their 
service.  Like  the  Scotch  Presbyterians  two  generations  ago  or  the  Irish 
Presbyterians  of  this  very  day,  they  believe  only  in  using  the  Psalms  of 
David  or  paraphrases  of  Scripture  in  their  public  worship,  and  allow,  of 
course,  no  instrumental  music.  President  Kruger  early  became  and  has 
ever  since  remained  a  Dopper.  Naturally  this  party  would  include  many 
of  the  most  earnest  and  the  mostdetermined  men  of  the  country,  for  those 
who  adopt  and  maintain  conservative  positions  in  religion  are  usually 
those  have  have  profound  convictions  and  will  make  sacrifices  for  them. 
The  "forward"  parties  include  many  of  the  same  spirit,  but  generally 
sweep  along  writh  them  all  those  whom  Bunyan  has  called  Mr.  Pliable 
and  Mr.  Worldly  Wiseman.  Mr.  Kruger  owes  a  large  part  of  his  political 
success  in  the  Transvaal  to  his  unbending  fidelity  as  a  Dopper.  That 
party  have  kept  him  to  the  front,  have  worked  for  him  constantly,  have 
used  every  fluctuation  of  public  fortune,  religious  enthusiasm  or  political 
controversy  as  an  opportunity  of  keeping  their  favorite  candidate  to  the 
front. 

During  the  years  which  succeeded  the  real  formation  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Republic  in  1864,  Mr.  Krnger's  public  life  was  mainly  spent  in 
military  operations  against  native  tribes.  He  was  by  no  means  uni- 
formly successful,  for  the  natives  gradually  learned  how  to  baffle  the 
well-known  tactics  of  the  Boers,  and  Mr.  Kruger  was  more  than  once 
discomfited.  As  Commandant-General,  he  was  perfectly  familiar  with 

475 


476  MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS. 

the  wicked  ways  in  which  the  border  Boers  inveigled  native  chiefs  into 
treaties  and  agreements,  and  then  found  reasons  for  "punishing"  them. 
He  was  instrumental  in  helping  to  organize  the  commandos  which,  as 
the  better  Boers  themselves  at  last  bitterly  complained,  went  every  year 
against  some  tribe  or  another — like  Zulu  regiments  on  annual  raids! 
In  any  case,  he  must  be  held  responsible  for  what  went  on  while  he 
was  Commandant-General.  This  responsibility  will  include  even  the 
cruel  practice  of  carrying  off  wagon-loads  of  native  children,  whom  the 
Boers  called  "orphans,"  and  dividing  them  as  "apprentices"  among  the 
farmers.  Of  course,  those  who  condemn  Mr.  Kruger  for  his  undoubted 
share  in  all  these  painful  transactions  must  remember,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  they  are  in  keeping  with  the  traditions  of  his  people,  and  that 
they  are  covered  by  the  religious  views  which  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  people 
have  held  concerning  Boers,  natives  and  land  respectively. 

During  the  early  years  of  the  South  African  Republic,  from  1852  to 
1864,  there  was  continual  strife  between  the  leaders  of  different  bands. 
Partly  they  were  separated  by  political  ideals,  partly  also  by  political 
jealousy  and  personal  rivalry.  Several  men  were  ambitious  of  being  the 
leaders  of  the  people  and  several  townships  were  ambitious  of  becoming 
the  center  or  capital  of  the  new  Republic.  The  story  of  these  years  of 
mutual  discord  leading  at  various  times  to  active  war  is  a  very  miserable 
and  sordid  one  indeed.  Throughout  them  Paul  Kruger  was  one  of  the 
most  active  spirits.  While  not  yet  himself  a.  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency, he  intervened  more  than  once  with  great  vigor  under  the  authority 
of  his  office  as  Commandant,  and  succeeded  in  compelling  those  who  were 
opposed  to  his  faction  to  desist  from  their  plans.  One  of  the  most  curious 
incidents  in  this  period  of  his  life  is  that  connected  with  an  attempted 
invasion  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  There  has  always  been  and  is  now  a 
very  strong  and  sometimes  openly  active  opposition  between  the  Boer 
inhabitants  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Boer  inhabitants  of  the 
Transvaal.  In  those  early  days  the  hostile  sentiments  were  quite  as 
powerful  as  at  any  later  date.  The  Free  Staters  seem  to  have  felt  them- 
selves insulted  by  certain  actions  of  Pretorius^  the  would-be  President 
of  the  Transvaalx  when  he  was  on  a  visit  to  Blomfontein.  They  prac- 
tically expelled  him  from  their  borders,  and  this  was  resented  not  only 
by  Pretorius  but  by  many  other  Transvaalers,  and  amongst  them  was 


MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS.  477 

Paul  Kruger.  An  invasion  of  the  Orange  Free  State  was  planned  and 
was  being  carried  out,  a  battle  was  impending,  when  the  unwilling  hosts 
resolved  to  attempt  another  way  of  settling  their  difficulties..  The  Trans- 
vaalers  sent  out  young  Paul  Kruger  under  a  flag  of  truce  to  beg  the  Free 
Staters  for  peace.  A  commission  was  appointed  consisting  of  twelve 
representatives  from  each  side  to  deal  with  the  matters  of  dispute  and 
arrange  for  their  settlement.  Among  these  representatives  we  again 
find  the  name  of  Paul  Kruger. 

These  things  occurred  in  1857.  In  the  following  year  Mr.  Kruger  was 
despatched  to  the  far  north  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  a  native  tribe  in 
that  region.  He  was  successful  in  this  expedition,  but  on  his  return 
found  himself  again  involved  in  military  operations  which  were  in- 
tended to  restrain  those  of  his  own  race  who  were  hostile  to  his  party.  He 
at  this  time  learned  the  secret,  not  only  of  active  warfare,  but  of  political 
agitation  and  rebellion  against  the  "powers  that  be,"  a  lesson  which 
proved  valuable  to  him  at  various  periods  of  his  later  career. 

When  in  the  year  1870  President  Pretorius,  with  whom  Mr.  Kruger 
had  been  for  many  years  politically  and  officially  identified,  incurred 
the  wrath  of  the  Transvaalers  by  accepting  arbitration  over  the  Bechu- 
analand  borders,  one  of  .his  most  strenuous  and  indignant  opponents 
was  his  Commandant-General,  Paul  Kruger.  Pretorius  was  compelled 
to  resign  and  a  successor  was  looked  for.  It  had  become  evident  to  the 
people  of  the  land  that  they  were  unable  to  cope  with  foreign  diplomacy 
and  were  unable  to  meet  the  increasing  complications  of  internal  admin- 
istration which  the  growth  of  the  white  population  placed  upon  their 
shoulders.  They  decided  therefore  to  look  for  a  man  whose  education 
and  ability  pointed  him  out  as  likely  to  lead  them  into  a  course  of  rapid 
national  development.  Hardly  in  history  can  one  find  a  more  pathetic 
juncture  than  this,  at  which  a  people  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  a  pas- 
sionate love  of  independence  confessed  their  incapacity  for  self-govern- 
ment. The  passion  was  mighty  and  struggled  like  a  giant,  blind  and 
bound  with  thongs,  under  the  tasks  imposed  upon  it.  But  in  vain.  The 
tasks  were  not  those  which  sheer  passion  and  brute  force  could  perform, 
and  this  nation  of  farmers  practically  confessed  that  they  needed  another 
kind  of  equipment  than  that  which  hitherto  they  had  thought  to  be  neces- 
sary and  sufficient.  They  therefore  looked  outside  of  their  number  and 


478  MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS. 

found,  as  they  imagined,  a  fit  man,  a  man  of  European  training,  of  great 
oratorical  gifts,  of  powerful  intellect,  in  Thomas  F.  Burgers.  Many  of 
them,  and,  of  course,  Paul  Kruger  among  them,  were  by  no  means 
pleased  at  this  appointment,  but  they  were  unable  to  offer  any  strenuous 
opposition.  The  fact  of  their  incapacity  stared  them  in  the  face. 

Paul  Kruger  was  not  a  man  to  lie  down  under  what  he  felt  to  be  in 
a  certain  measure  a  personal  criticism  and  a  personal  disgrace ;  for,  next 
to  their  late  President,  he  and  Mr.  Joubert  were  the  most  prominent 
citizens  of  the  country,  and  the  bringing  in  of  an  outsider  as  their  Presi- 
dent was  the  condemnation  of  the  actual  leaders  of  the  land.  Quietly  but 
steadily  Paul  Kruger's  opposition  to  Burgers  was  brought  to  bear  upon 
his  policy  and  his  operations.  Unquestionably  Kruger  disliked  the  ap- 
parent irreligion  of  Burgers;  he  sincerely  believed  that  the  blessing  of 
Almighty  God  must  be  withdrawn  from  their  country  for  the  very  reason 
that  an  "unbeliever"  had  been  chosen  to  rule  them.  He  felt  that  they  had 
departed  from  the  Lord  even  as  Israel  did  when  ungodly  kings  ruled  at 
Jerusalem  or  Samaria.  It  could  be  with  no  courageous  heart  or  high  spirit 
that  Kruger  would  go  forth  to  war.  even  for  his  country  while  the  country 
was  under  the  ban  of  the  King  of  Kings.  Now,  if  Mr.  Kruger  had  kept  this 
despair  to  himself  Burgers  might  have  succeeded  in  winning  the  alle- 
giance of  many  whose  allegiance  he  lost.  But  Mr.  Kruger  from  the  first 
has  been  a  born  agitator,  always  "agin  the  Government,"  like  the  prover- 
bial Irishman,  until  he  had  the  Government  in  his  own  hands.  Accord- 
ingly his  dislike  of  President  Burgers  broke  early  into  active  opposition 
to  the  schemes  which  the  President  proposed.  An  active  propaganda  was 
created  among  the  Doppers  and  through  them  among  others  against 
the  unbelieving  head  of  the  nation.  When  in  1874  President  Burgers 
made  his  journey  to  Europe  on  behalf  of  his  country,  full  of  enthusiasm, 
of  large  plans,  of  bright  expectations,  he  left  the  Government  in  the 
hands  of  Paul  Kruger,  the  Vice-President,  and  Piet  Joubert,  the  Com- 
mandant-General. He  could  not  have  done  worse  for  his  own  position 
and  the  success  of  his  schemes.  The  two  men  who  acted  on  his  behalf 
proceeded  to  undo  what  little  he  had  already  accomplished.  They  para- 
lyzed the  offices  which  he  had  created,  used  their  position  to  spread  dis- 
like of  his  ambitious  and  far-reaching  schemes.  So  successful  were  they 
in  this,  most  people  will  call  it  treacherous,  work,  that  when  he  returned 


u-   or 
o    I 


or 

(U 

B 
H 

O 

i 

E 

Q 
R 
-< 

i 
i 

o 
o 

H 

or 
u 

CO 


03 
O 


MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS.  481 

he  found  himself  in  a  most  unenviable  position.  The  people  whom  he 
had  aroused  were  now  in  despair,  and  the  very  operations  for  which  he 
had  borrowed  money  no  one  would  undertake.  His  railroad  plans  fell 
through  and  the  material  which  he  had  bought  in  Europe  was  allowed 
to  lie  at  the  coast  unused  to  go  to  destruction.  When  the  war  broke  out 
against  the  native  tribe  under  Secocoeni,  President  Burgers  resolved  to 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Boer  forces.  This,  no  doubt,  he  did  with 
the  hope  of  winning  their  confidence,  of  inspiring  them  with  courage,  of 
completely  identifying  himself  with  their  interests.  It  was  in  vain.  The 
agitators  against  him  argued  that  no  war  could  be  blessed  in  which  this 
unbeliever  was  their  commander.  All  heart  and  vigor  was  taken  out  of 
his  forces.  When  on  meeting  a  vigorous  resistance  from  the  natives  the 
Boers  turned  to  flee,  Burgers  was  overwhelmed  with  grief  and  shame,  he 
even  shouted  to  them  to  shoot  him,  rather  than  desert  him.  It  was  in 
vain.  The  Transvaal  citizens,  who  detested  more  than  most  things  defeat 
at  the  hands  of  native  tribes,  had  been  taught  in  recent  days  to  detest 
even  more  than  that  the  leadership  of  this  President. 

About  this  time  people  began  to  think  in  the  Transvaal  of  the  expira- 
tion of  President  Burger's  term  of  office,  and  of  the  election  of  a  new 
President  which  must  then  take  place.  By  this  time  Paul  Kruger  had 
come  to  occupy  a  position  of  such  influence  in  the  country  by  means  of 
his  prolonged  and  persistent  agitations,  that  he  was  evidently  marked 
out  as  the  candidate  whom  the  conservative  citizens  must  support  in 
'opposition  to  President  Burgers.  Mr.  Kruger  allowed  his  name  to 
be  put  forward  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidentship,  and  for  months  the 
country  was  absorbed  in  preparations  for  this  contest.  Paul  Kruger  had 
this  advantage,  that  he  could  go  about  more  freely  among  the  citizens 
than  the  President ;  that  he  could  stimulate  criticism  and  organize  oppo- 
sition which  in  political  matters  is  always  easier  than  to  maintain  a  suc- 
cessful defence. 

When  Shepstone,  the  British  Commissioner,  arrived  in  the  country 
towards  the  end  of  1876  he  found  the  population  distracted  over  this  keen 
and  prolonged  contest.  Months  must  yet  elapse  before  the  election,  but 
already  the  struggle  had  reached  a  white  heat  of  passion.  It  became 
evident  that  the  two  parties  in  the  country  were  both  deeply  in  earnest. 
They  were  so  full  of  resentment  against  each  other,  so  full  of  intense 


482  MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS. 

and  sincere  dislike  for  each  other's  policy,  that  the  day  of  the  election 
might  easily  bring  the  dawn  of  a  civil  war.  In  fact,  the  Boers  themselves 
were  preparing  their  minds  for  such  a  result.  Here  the  Progressives 
were  determined  not  to  come  under  the  domination  of  the  retrogressive 
Doppers,  and  there  the  Doppers  were  heart  and  soul  devoted  to  the  task 
of  destroying  the  power  of  the  ungodly  Progressives. 

Mr.  Eider  Haggard  has  preserved  for  the  delectation  of  the  world 
at  large  a  specimen  of  the  arguments  employed  by  one  of  the  most 
powerful  newspapers  supporting  President  Kruger's  candidacy.  This 
paper  although  published  in  Cape  Colony  exercised  at  this  time  enor- 
mous influence  in  the  Transvaal  by  uniting  that  form  of  religious  faith 
which  the  Doppers  loved  with  the  most  intense  form  of  what  is  called 
"Afrikander"  patriotism.  In  one  of  its  articles  this  newspaper  accounts 
for  the  weakened  and  degraded  condition  of  the  Transvaal  country  by 
an  appeal  to  the  experience  of  Israel.  "Look  at  Israel,  while  the  people 
have  a  godly  king,  everything  is  prosperous,  but  under  a  godless  prince 
the  land  retrogrades,  and  the  whole  of  the  people  must  suffer.  Bead  Lev. 
chapter  26,  with  attention,  etc.  In  the  day  of  the  Voortrekkers  (the 
Boer  farmers),  a  handful  of  men  chased  a  thousand  Kaffirs  and  made 
them  run;  so  also  in  the  Free  State  (Deut,  32:  30;  Josh.  23:  10;  Lev. 
26:  8).  But  mark,  now,  when  Burgers  became  President;  he  knows  no 
Sabbath,  he  rides  through  the  land  in  and  out  of  town,  he  knows  n'ot  the 
church  and  God's  service  (Lev.  26:  2,  3),  to  the  scandal  of  pious  people. 
And  he  formerly  was  a  priest,  too.  And  what  is  the  consequence?  No 
harvest  (Lev.  26:  16),  an  army  of  6,000  men  runs  because  one  man  falls 
(Lev.  26:  17),"  etc.  Then  the  writer  passes  to  advocate  the  claims  of 
Paul  Kruger  as  the  successor  of  Burgers,  and  amongst  other  reasons  the 
following  are  given :  "Because  there  is  no  other  candidate.  Because  our 
Lord  clearly  points  him  out  to  be  the  man,  for  why  is  there  no  other 
candidate?  Who  arranged  it  this  way?  Because  he  himself  announces 
in  his  reply  that  he  is  incompetent;  but  that  his  ability  is  from  the 
Lord.  Because  he  is  a  warrior.  Because  he  is  a  Boer."  Then  Mr.  Kruger 
is  compared  to  Joan  of  Arc. 

This  article  proceeds  to  advise  the  candidate  whom  God  has  chosen 
that  since  the  Lord  gave  him  the  heart  of  a  warrior  he  must  deliver  tlio 
land  from  the  Kaffirs.  This  evidently  was  oneof  the  arguments  which  told 


MR.  KRUGER  AND  TRANSVAAL  POLITICS.  483 

most  in  the  Transvaal  in  favor  of  Mr.  Kruger,  for  the  fear  of  the  Kaffirs 
was  heavy  upon  the  Boer  heart  at  that  time,  and  he  who  had  been  prom- 
inent in  all  their  wars,  both  civil  and  foreign,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
was  felt  to  be  a  man,  if  any  was  in  the  land,  who  could  arise  and  drive 
them  out.  But  the  editor  of  this  paper  was  evidently  aware  that  what, 
after  all,  the  Transvaal  needed  was  a  man  of  wider  training  than  even 
Paul  Kruger  had  received,  and  his  article  adverts  to  the  day,  therefore, 
when,  his  warrior's  task  being  done  and  the  country  made  safe  from  the 
Kaffirs,  he  would  acknowledge  that  he  is  no  statesman  and  would  turn 
round  in  the  spirit  of  supreme  patriotism  and  self-denial,  asking  his 
people  to  choose  a  President  better  fitted  for  statecraft  than  himself! 

The  very  heat  and  strength  with  which  Kruger's  agitation  was  car- 
ried on  increased  the  confusion  of  voices  in  the  land,  prevented  the 
Transvaal  people  from  arising  with  indignation  at  the  intrusion  of  Shep- 
stone,  prevented  them  from  standing  loyal  in  this  humiliating  crisis  to 
their  actual  President  and  their  actual  Government.  Undoubtedly  the 
fierceness  of  this  candidacy  and  the  grounds  upon  which  it  was  based, 
helped  largely  to  spread  that  feeling  of  weakness  and  dismay  through  the 
land  which  so  astonished  Shepstone  and  convinced  him  that  this  people 
had  proved  themselves  incapable  of  self-government.  He  may  have  been 
wrong.  It  may  be  that  in  the  very  party  led  by  Mr.  Kruger,  which  was 
creating  this  temporary  low  tide,  lay  the  forces  which,  when  the  time 
came,  would  carry  the  people  forward  into  a  vigorous  future.  But  to  the 
searching  eyes  alike  of  the  Boers  and  their  government,  as  well  as  of  the 
keen-witted  and  calm-souled  Shepstone,  no  such  promise  seemed  to  be 
contained  in  the  circumstances  which  were  before  them. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  this  very  time  Mr.  Kruger  held  office 
under  the  President  whom  he  was  denouncing,  a  relation  which  once 
more  throws  into  relief  the  incapacity  of  the  Boers  at  that  time  for  intelli- 
gent self-government  and  the  peculiar  conception  of  duty  and  personal 
honor  which  Paul  Kruger  has  throughout  his  life  cherished  and  acted 
upon.  When,  therefore,  in  April,  1877,  the  British  Government  assumed 
the  reins  of  power,  while  Joubert  immediately  declined  to  serve  under 
a  government  which  he  hated,  Paul  Kruger  retained  his  office.  But 
now  there  was  substituted  for  his  former  opponent,  President  Burgers, 
a  new  opponent  in  the  person  of  the  Queen's  representative. 


CHAPTER  III. 
MR.   KRUGER    AND    THE    WAR    OF    INDEPENDENCE. 

IN  THE  month  of  May,  1877,  within  a  few  weeks  therefore  after  the  act 
of  annexation  by  Shepstone,  Mr.  Kruger,  accompanied  by  Dr.Jorissen, 

a  Hollander  of  considerable  ability  and  education  who  identified  him- 
self completely  with  Transvaal  interests,  proceeded  to  England  to  carry 
the  protest  against  annexation  to  the  highest  authorities.  Shepstone 
wrote,  saying,  "I  do  not  think  that  either  of  them  wishes  the  act  of  annex- 
tion  to  be  cancelled;  Dr.  Jorissen  certainly  does  not."  They  paid  a  visit 
to  Kimberley  and  there  met  a  Mr.  J.  D.  Barry,  who  wrote  to  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  that  the  two  delegates  did  not  "have  much  faith  in  their  mission." 
He  adds  a  strong  corroboration  of  Shepstone's  remark  by  saying,  "Dr. 
Jorissen  thinks  that  the  reversal  of  Sir  Theophilus's  act  would  not  only 
be  impossible,  but  a  great  injury  to  the  country."  The  delegates  were 
well  received  in  London,  were  taken  as  his  guests  by  Lord  Carnarvon  to 
his  country  house;  but  he  firmly  told  them  that  there  could  be  no  re- 
versal of  the  act  of  annexation.  They  returned  immediately  to  the  Trans- 
vaal, and  to  their  work  under  the  British  Government.  Mr.  Kruger,  how- 
ever, clung  to  his  .hope  of  a  restored  self-government  and  watched  with 
his  characteristic  shrewdness  and  employed  with  his  determined  will, 
every  event  which  seemed  capable  of  use  in  that  direction.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  (1878)  Mr.  Kruger  once  more  made  the  long  journey  to  Cape 
Town  and  the  long  voyage  to  London.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  life- 
long rival,  Mr.  Pieter  Joubert,  with  Mr.  Bok  as  secretary.  This  time  they 
could  claim  that  they  were  sent  by  a  formal  meeting  which  had  been 
convened  on  April  4th  and  by  whose  authority  they  once  more  carried 
the  Boer  protest  to  the  British  Government.  The  answer  which  they 
received  was  the  same  with  which  they  had  been  met  before.  They  were 
told  that  the  Queen's  sovereignty  could  not  now  be  withdrawn. 

Mr.  Kruger  made  the  return  journey  through  Natal  and  found  him- 
self there  at  the  very  time  when  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  preparing  for  the 
war  against  Zululand.  Naturally  the  Boer  leaders  were  not  at  all  unwill- 

484 


THE   WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  485 

ing  to  see  the  British  win  in  the  approaching  fight,  since  the  victory 
would  mean  the  destruction  of  the  power  which  for  some  years  now  had 
threatened  the  Transvaal.  They  therefore  frankly  and  heartily  gave  all 
the  advice  Sir  Bartle  Frere  asked  of  them. 

Frere  was  kept  a  considerable  time  in  that  region,  and  it  was  not 
until  May,  1879,  that  he  was  able  to  make  his  long  contemplated  visit 
to  the  Transvaal.  Then  the  agitation  in  the  country  had  been  carried 
on  with  such  persistence,  had  been  met  by  the  British  authorities  with 
such  weakness,  that  it  had  assumed  portentous  proportions.  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  was  invited  to  meet  with  the  Boers,  and  lie  found  them  encamped 
at  a  place  called  Kleinfontein.  Here  they  had  actually  gathered  some 
thousands  of  men.  The  scene  is  described  very  vividly  and  in  striking 
detail  by  the  biographer  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere.  The  high-souled  representa- 
tive of  the  Queen  carried  himself  with  splendid  courage,  and  with  his  un- 
failing wisdom  and  irresistible  tact  when  he  met  men  face  to  face.  His 
mingled  firmness  and  courtesy  produced  due  impression,  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  ere  his  conference  with  them  was  over  he  had  gained 
the  warm  respect  and  even  the  trust  of  most  of  those  Boer  leaders.  They 
wished  him,  and  Mr.  Kruger  especially  urged  it,  to  present  their  views  to 
the  British  Government  and  strove  hard  to  persuade  him  to  support  them 
with  his  own  personal  approval.  The  latter  he  of  course  explained 
frankly  that  he  could  not  give,  but  he  agreed  to  forward  to  his  Govern- 
ment a  statement  of  the  views  which  they  themselves  should  approve  as 
adequately  representing  what  they  had  urged  upon  him,  and  promised 
that  he  would  at  any  rate  urge  upon  the  Government  the  importance 
of  considering  these  views.  This  was  done  and  the  document  which  he 
drew  up  was  signed  by  five  of  the  Boers,  including  M.  W.  Pretorius,  who 
acted  as  chairman  of  the  conference,  and  Mr.  Kruger.  At  the  same 
time  Sir  Bartle  Frere  presented  his  own  views,  in  which  he  strongly 
urged  that  the  Transvaal  be  retained,  expressing  the  conviction  that 
large  numbers  of  the  Boers  were  forced  into  this  movement  by  the  leaders 
and  that  most  of  the  ills  of  which  they  complained  were  due  to  faults  in 
the  policy  of  the  British  Government  since  they  occupied  the  land. 

Frere  remained  at  Pretoria  for  about  a  fortnight,  and  during  that 
time  found  that  the  agitation  was  becoming  dangerous.  The  more  rest- 
less and  reckless  of  the  Boers  bad  repeatedly  to  be  restrained  by  Mr. 


486  THE   WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

Kruger  and  the  more  prudent  section,  from  making  an  immediate  attack 
upon  the  representatives  of  the  Queen  at  Pretoria.  During  his  stay 
Frere  had  repeated  meetings  with  the  leaders,  and  there  is  the  best 
evidence  that  he  made  a  most  favorable  and  powerful  impression  upon 
them.  Mr.  Kruger,  in  fact,  is  reported  to  have  said,  "The  people  and 
committee  have  all  conceived  great  respect  for  your  Excellency,  because 
your  Excellency  is  the  first  high  official  of  Her  Majesty  who  has  laid  bare 
the  whole  truth;  and  that  esteem  will  not  easily  be  lost  whatever  more 
you  may  say,  for  the  people  have  seen  for  themselves  in  writing  what 
your  Excellency  has  said."  Among  the  ordinary  folk  Frere  made  him- 
self at  home  and  won  the  hearts  of  many  of  them.  His  religious  character 
became  known  and  increased  their  faith  in  his  wisdom  and  his  sincerity. 
"As  for  this  Governor  of  yours,"  one  Boer  said,  "from  all  I  hear  he  might 
be  a  'regt  Dopper,' "  which  may  be  translated,  "A  right  godly  Boer." 
No  higher  compliment  can  be  conceived  as  coming  from  a  follower  of 
Mr.  Kruger. 

In  the  following  year,  1880,  it  became  known  to  Mr.  Kruger  and  his 
friends  that  a  strong  effort  was  being  made  to  carry  through  the  scheme 
of  confederation  of  the  South  African  states  and  colonies,  and  that  a 
conference  was  proposed  which  would  be  held  at  Cape  Town  to  deal 
with  the  matter.  The  Prime  Minister  at  Cape  Town,  Mr.  Gordon  Sprigg, 
was  in  sympathy  with- the  movement,  and  his  ministry  was  understood 
to  be  acting  in  that  direction.  These  facts  led  Mr.  Kruger  to  make  one 
more  long  journey  on  behalf  of  his  country.  He  went  to  Cape  Town 
along  with  Mr.  Joubert  and  Dr.  Jorissen  and  there  spent  some  time 
with  the  double  object  of  arousing  a  stronger  sympathy  among  the  Dutch 
people  and  of  defeating  the  proposal  to  hold  a  conference  on  confedera- 
tion. In  these  purposes  he  was  signally  successful.  Frere  was  still  in 
the  country,  but  nearly  everybody  was  aware  that,  since  the  Liberal  party 
had  returned  to  office  in  London,  his  days  of  Governorship  were  num- 
bered. Mr.  Kruger  had  in  fact  in  recent  days  been  greatly  encouraged 
by  the  accession  of  Mr.  Gladstone  to  power.  A  little  group  of  determined 
Radicals  in  England,  who  made  it  their  life's  aim  to  undo  all  that 
had  been  done  by  their  pet  aversion,  Lord  Beaconsfield,  were  working 
steadily  towards  the  retrocession  of  the  Transvaal.  Mr.  Gladstone,  it  is 
true,  affirmed  after  his  accession  to  office  that  a  reversal  of  the  annexa- 


THE   WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  48T 

tion  could  not  take  place;  but  the  Radicals  referred  to  steadily  per- 
sisted in  their  pressure  upoij  the  Prime  Minister  and  steadily  encouraged 
Mr.  Kruger  to  carry  on  his  agitation.  It  was  to  one  of  these,  Mr.  Leonard 
Courtney,  M.  P.,  who  may  claim  the  distinction  of  having  had  much  to 
do  with  securing  the  war  of  independence  and  the  act  of  retrocession, 
that  Mr.  Kruger  reported  the  success  of  his  mission  to  Cape  Town.  "It 
is  a  satisfaction  to  us,"  he  said,  "candidly  and  without  reservation,  to 
inform  you  that  the  conference  proposal  has  failed  through  our  efforts." 
Mr.  Kruger  appears  to  have  become  aware  at  this  time  that  Frere  had 
lost  influence  in  London  and  would  be  removed  before  long,  and  this 
encouraged  him  as  much  as  any  other  circumstance  connected  with  his 
mission. 

In  December  of  that  year,  1880,  the  prolonged,  careful,  persistent  and 
shrewd  machinations  of  Mr.  Kruger  reached  a  head.  There  gathered  at 
Paardekraal  some  thousands  of  Boers  who  proceeded  in  the  most  open 
fashion  once  more  to  organize  their  Government.  They  assumed  as  a 
logical  and  practical  starting-point  that  their  Volksraad  had  never  been 
dissolved,  and  that  therefore  it  could  assemble  once  more  and  pick  up 
the  threads  which  it  had  dropped  on  April  11,  1877.  Mr.  Kruger  accord- 
ingly appeared  in  his  former  capacity  as  Vice-President,  Mr.  Joubert 
as  Commandant-General,  while  Dr.  Jorissen  resumed  his  place  as  State 
Attorney  from  which  he  had  been  so  ignominiously  removed  on  the 
ground  of  legal  incompetency  by  the  hated  British.  Of  course  there  was 
no  President,  but  the  work  was  carried  on  practically  by  those  who  have 
just  been  named,  and  as  all  were  working  with  unanimity  for  one  end 
this  difficulty  was  not  keenly  felt.  It  was  considered  politic  to  move  to 
Heidelberg  where  their  assembled  force  would  occupy  a  position  of  great 
strategic  importance  between  Pretoria,  and  Natal. 

The  story  of  the  war  which  immediately  broke  out  need  not  be 
repeated  here.  Throughout  its  course,  Mr.  Kruger  was  active.  He  was 
present  at  headquarters  most  of  the  time  and  was  of  course  deeply  con- 
cerned when  the  armistice  was  arranged,  as  also  in  the  negotiations 
on  which  the  Convention  of  Pretoria  was  founded.  Throughout  these 
negotiations  he  made  his  own  contribution  of  shrewdness  and  determina- 
tion, and  helped  to  win  the  diplomatic  victory  which  must  be  recorded  as 
having  been  gained  by  the  Boers  in  addition  to  their  military  triumphs,  As 


488  THE   WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 

soon  as  the  Convention  was  agreed  to  by  the  negotiators,  the  Volksraad 
was  summoned  and  Mr.  Kruger  presented  the  Convention,  not  without 
some  apprehension  that  his  people  would  disapprove  of  its  provisions. 
In  fact  he  had  considerable  difficulty  in  obtaining  their  consent  to  it. 
They  felt  that  this  was  not  the  independence  which  they  had  enjoyed 
down  to  the  year  1877.  They  were  undismayed  by  the  facts  that  once 
more,  with  the  suddenness  almost  of  a  cyclone,  land  values  had  gone 
down,  capital  had  begun  to  leave  the  country  and  commercial  collapse 
was  before  them.  Their  eyes  were  upon  their  ideal.  Their  memories 
were  faint  already  regarding  the  condition  of  affairs  in  1876;  they  were 
conscious  now  and  proud  of  having  beaten  the  British,  of  having  prac- 
tically no  powerful  native  tribes  left  to  threaten  them;  they  were  pos- 
sessed of  all  the  enthusiasm  which  belongs  to  the  beginnings  of  a  great 
national  movement.  It  appeared  to  them  therefore  humiliating  that  a 
British  Resident  should,  in  terms  of  this  Convention,  live  at  Pretoria  to 
control  their  dealings  with  foreign  nations  and  with  all  native  peoples; 
humiliating  to  be  told  that  the  right  of  Great  Britain  was  reserved  to 
march  her  troops  through  the  Transvaal  if  occasion  demanded  such  a. 
step;  humiliating  to  be  told  that  thus  they  were  forced  to  acknowledge 
the  suzerainty  of  the  Queen.  But  Mr.  Kruger  had  had  enough  of  uncer- 
tainty and  of  war.  He  knew  that  the  British  Government  had  gone  as 
far  as  at  the  time  it  could,  and  that  a  rejection  of  its  terms  might  lead 
to  the  renewal  of  hostilities.  He  himself  also  had  enough  knowledge  of 
the  world  to  appreciate  the  magnanimity  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  a  magnan- 
imity which  his  people  did  not  then  understand  and  have  never  since  been 
able  to  regard  as  anything  but  the  submission  of  a  conquered  man.  His 
people  believed  that  they  had  actually  smitten  the  British  power  hip 
and  thigh,  as  Israelites  smote  their  enemies  of  old.  To  them  the  great- 
ness of  Great  Britain  was  but  a  vague  and  distant  rumor.  All  these 
circumstances  led  Mr.  Kruger  eagerly  to  desire  and  passionately  to  urge 
that  the  Convention  should  be  immediately  approved.  And  at  last  it 
was  approved,  but  with  the  very  bold  assertion  that  this  was  done  "for 
the  time  and  provisionally,"  in  order  to  submit  the  articles  of  the  Conven- 
tion to  a  practical  test. 

Mr.  Kruger  found  himself  carrying  a  crushing  load.     The  Boers  in- 
deed were  once  more  a  self-governing  people,  but  they  found  themselves 


THE   WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  489 

in  the  unenviable  position  of  having  still  the  debt  upon  their  shoulders, 
a  people  still  unwilling  to  pay  taxes,  and  a  country  whose  commerce  was 
once  more  reduced  to  the  bare  necessities  of  life.  The  busy  streets  of 
Pretoria  became  deserted  and  overgrown  with  vegetation,  and  the  public 
works  began  speedily  to  decay.  Nevertheless  the  leader  of  this  people 
carried  himself  with  great  courage  and  fixity  of  purpose. 

In  the  year  1883  the  first  election  of  a  President  took  place.  The 
candidates  were  Mr.  Kruger,  representing  the  Doppers,  or  conservative 
element,  and  Mr.  Joubert,  representing  the  progressives.  Thq  former 
was  elected  by  3,431  votes  to  1,171. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MR.  KRUGER'S    FIRST    PRESIDENCY. 

AS  SOON  as  he  was  in  the  President's  chair,  Mr.  Kruger  began 
to  work  for  the  amendment  of  the  Pretoria  Convention.  He 
arranged  for  another  Deputation  to  Great  Britain.  Once  more 
was  he  most  courteously  received  in  London;  once  more  was  he 
successful  in  winning  from  the  British  Government  the  greater  part 
of  the  desires  which  he  placed  before  them  on  behalf  of  his  people.  The 
British  Resident  was  removed,  the  debt  was  reduced,  and  other  benefits 
were  granted,  in  return  for  which  Great  Britain  asked  and  received 
absolutely  nothing.  She  retained  indeed  authority  over  the  foreign 
treaties  of  the  Transvaal;  she  insisted,  in  the  negotiations  leading  to 
the  Convention,  that  she  occupied  such  a,  relation  to  the  Transvaal 
that  the  Convention  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  treaty  between  two 
contracting  powers,  but  as  a  statement  of  the  conditions  under  which  a 
grant  of  privileges  was  conveyed  by  the  Queen  to  those  who  had  been 
her  subjects.  It  must  ever  be  remembered  in  the  discussions  of  the 
relation  of  Great  Britain  to  the  Transvaal  that  this  position  has  been 
constantly  maintained  since  1852.  Great  Britain  stands  in  a  relation 
to  the  Boers  so  peculiar  that  all  agreements  made  with  them  are  in  the 
nature  of  gifts  made  to  them  along  with  the  statement  of  conditions  on 
which  these  gifts  are  made.  Even  the  ever  compliant  Earl  of  Derby  put 
that  position  very  clearly  before  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  companions  at  the 
very  beginning  of  their  negotiations  in  London  in  November,  1883. 

President  Kruger  had  other  objects  in  view  in  making  this  trip  to 
Europe  besides  the  winning  of  a  new  Convention  from  Europe.  He 
desired  especially  to  come  to  terms  with  the  Portuguese  Government 
regarding  certain  railroad  concessions  which,  when  really  adjusted, 
would  put  the  Transvaal  in  a  more  favorable  position  for  establishing 
railway  connections  between  Pretoria  and  Delagoa.  Bay.  He  accordingly 
asked  authority  under  the  new  Convention  from  Lord  Derby,  or  rather 
Lord  Derby  offered  to  him  the  assurance  that  he  geed  have  no  difficulty 

490 


MR.    KRUGER'S   FIRST  PRESIDENCY.  491 

in  making  such  arrangements  as  he  found  necessary  in  the  interest  of  his 
country,  even  although  the  new  Convention  had  not  yet  been  ratified.  It 
was  pointed  out  that  no  such  agreement  with  a  foreign  power  would  be 
binding  before  ratification,  but  that  he  could  rely  upon  Lord  Derby's 
willing  and  active  assistance  in  making  any  such  agreement  on  the  basis 
of  the  Pretoria  Convention. 

It  was  therefore  with  a  good  deal  of  gratitude,  mixed  with  consider- 
able regret,  that  President  Kruger  bade  farewell  to  London  and  entered 
upon  a  continental  tour.  He  proceeded  to  several  of  the  European 
capitals  and  was  everywhere  received  with  due  honor  and  kindliness.  At 
Amsterdam  of  course  his  arrival  was  celebrated  with  especial  interest 
and  enthusiasm.,  Here  perhaps  the  most  important  event  was  his  dis- 
covery of  a  young  man  who  had  just  taken  his  doctor's  degree  at  the 
University,  who  was  willing  to  engage  himself  as,  to  begin  with,  private 
secretary  to  President  Kruger,  and  who  has  since  proved  himself  a  most 
faithful,  enthusiastic  and  powerful  supporter  and  diplomatist  of  the 
Transvaal  Government.  This  was  Dr.  Leyds.  From  Amsterdam  Presi- 
dent Kruger  went  to  Berlin,  thence  to  Paris,  from  Paris  to  Lisbon,  where 
he  secured  the  arrangements  which  he  desired  with  the  Lisbon  govern- 
ment, and  returned  to  South  Africa  in  triumph.  Beyond  all  doubt  the 
negotiation  of  the  London  Convention  and  the  successful  carrying  out 
of  his  visits  to  the  European  capitals  gave  to  President  Kruger  a  position 
in  South  Africa  that  had  been  reached  by  no  other  South  African  states- 
man, not  excepting  Sir  John  Brand.  He  had  proved  himself  the  most 
powerful  and  sagacious,  the  most  self-respecting  and  determined  diplo- 
matist. He  returned  to  his  own  land  with  fresh  prestige  and  the 
opportunity  for  making  a  brilliant  career.  The  Dutch  world  of  South 
Africa  looked  up  to  him  with  new  confidence  and  a  feeling  even  of  rev- 
erence, even  as  Israel  unto  Moses.  He  had  proved  that  he  could  now  do 
more  than  lead  filibustering  expeditions  against  native  tribes,  that  he 
could  do  more  than  sweep  his  Dopper  constituencies  into  line  to  support 
his  political  schemes,  that  he  could  do  more  than  present  a  bold  front  to 
British  representatives  in  South  Africa.  Avowedly  ignorant  of  the 
world,  narrow  in  spirit,  inexperienced  in  statecraft,  he  yet  showed  him- 
self able  to  cope  in  distant  lands  with  the  very  authorities  and  wielders 
of  European  power. 


492  MR.   KRUGER'S   FIRST  PRESIDENCY. 

We  have  mentioned  one  reason  for  regret  which,  he  carried  back  with 
him  to  Pretoria.  There  was  only  one  side  of  the  Convention  which 
proved  a  bdtter  disappointment  to  his  Volksraad,  as  it  had  been  to 
himself.  This  was  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  actually  manifested  firm- 
ness enough  to  put  down  on  the  map  a  western  boundary  for  the  Trans- 
vaal. Hitherto  such  a  thing  had  been  practically  unknown  or  in  serious 
dispute.  It  was  like  closing  a  large  window  of  a  house  and  asking  people 
to  live  with  the  same  freedom  as  they  had  before.  The  Transvaal  Boers 
with  their  land-hunger  had  always  been  accustomed  to  look  out  upon 
Bechuanaland  as  through  an  open  window.  The  idea,  of  having  a  boun- 
dary line  seemed  like  shutting  them  into  an  unnatural  darkness.  The 
idea  that  Montsioa,  with  whom  they  had  picked  one  quarrel  after  another, 
should  now  be  beyond  their  reach  under  the  Queen's  protection,  and  that 
the  lands  of  Mankoroane,  whose  territory  they  had  already  begun  to  seize 
in  the  usual  way,  should  be  proclaimed  as  a  part  of  a  new  British  pro- 
tectorate! These  were  indeed  occasions  of  deep  grief  and  despair  at 
Pretoria.  So  deep,  that  the  Volksraad  seemed  almost  to  forget  all  the 
other  ills  from  which  they  had  suffered  and  which  Lord  Derby  had 
simply  swept  away  because  they  asked  him  to  do  so.  The  Boer  mind 
could  not  grasp  the  fact  that  they  had  been  treated  with  a  generosity 
which  no  other  European  country  could  possibly  have  been  per- 
suaded to  show  to  them.  They  took  all  that  they  had  got,  and  then 
nursed  bitterness  in  their  souls  over  the  one  fact  that  they  were 
now  compelled  to  have  a  western  boundary  and  to  respect  the  rights  of 
the  native  tribes  beyond.  It  needed  indeed  a  very  strong  speech  from 
President  Kruger  himself  to  persuade  the  Volksraad  that  they  must 
accept  that  part  of  the  Convention.  They  were  inclined  to  berate  the 
Government  in  the  usual  terms  of  Boer  vituperation  against  British 
rulers;  but  President  Kruger,  fresh  from  his  triumph  in  Europe  and 
fresh  from  his  kindly  intercourse  with  the  members  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment, could  not  endure  this.  He  accordingly  rose  to  explain  that 
the  British  Government  was  not  to  blame,  that  they  would  have  given 
him  all  that  he  asked,  yea,  that  he  might  have  had  all  Bechuanaland 
and  the  road  into  the  interior, — not  even  the  British  people  were  to  be 
maligned  in  this  matter, — their  disappointment  was  wholly  due  to  the 


MR.    KRUGER'S   FIRST  PRESIDENCY. 

"intrigues"  of  two  "liars,"  namely,  Mackenzie  the  missionary,  and  Sir 
Hercules  Robinson,  the  High  Commissioner! 

President  Kruger  now  had  his  hands  full.  It  was  his  task  to  re- 
organize affairs  so  far  as  was  necessary  upon  a  new  basis  within  the 
Transvaal  itself.  But  this  work  of  development  was  interrupted  suddenly 
by  the  disturbances  which  broke  out  on  the  western  border.  Parties  of 
Boers  had  in  the  previous  two  years  extended  their  settlements  into  the 
ver^r  region  now  proclaimed  as  a  British  protectorate.  They  had  formed 
two  republics.  While  they  formed  these  two  republics  and  while  they 
continued  to  maintain  them  even  after  the  Convention  had  been  ratified 
by  the  Volksraad,  most  of  them  were  actually  domiciled  within  the  Trans- 
vaal. Repeated  remonstrances  were  addressed  to  Pretoria,  but  all  in 
vain.  In  one  way  or  another  excuses  were  found  by  President  Kruger 
for  taking  no  action.  Van  ^Tiekerk  and  his  company,  who  called  them- 
selves the  "Stellaland  administration,"  lived,  as  was  well  known,  near 
the  Hart  River  within  the  Transvaal,  and  they  crossed  the  line  freely 
even  after  Stellaland  had  been  proclaimed  by  a  Deputy-Commissioner 
of  the  Queen  as  British  territory.  His  followers  actually  attacked  Vry- 
burg  itself,  terrorising  and  assaulting  the  leading  loyalists  there.  Yet 
there  was  no  redress.  The  insincerity  of  President  Kruger's  dealings 
in  this  matter  within  a  few  months  of  his  visit  to  London,  is  shown  by 
nothing  more  clearly  than  the  treaty  which  he  attempted  to  make  and  a 
proclamation  of  annexation  which  he  issued  with  reference  to  the  lands 
of  Montsioa  on  which  one  of  the  new  republics  (Goshen)  had  been 
formed.  The  excuse  for  this  inexcusable  transaction  was  that  Montsioa 
wished  the  protection  of  his  Government,  which  had  never  been  true  and 
never  could  be.  But  upon  this  excuse  he  based  a.  conditional  annexa- 
tion, announcing  that  the  territory  wras  now  brought  under  the  protection 
of  his  Government  "subject  to  the  4th  article  of  the  London  Convention." 

It  is  impossible  to  regard  this  event,  which  General  Joubert  saw  at 
once  to  be  a.  blunder  in  diplomacy  and  which  he  repudiated  by  resigning 
his  office  under  President  Kruger,  as  anything  else  but  a  contemptuous 
assumption  that  Great  Britain  would  never  be  in  earnest  about  anything 
in  South  Africa.  The  President  found  this  to  be  a  profound  error.  There 
were  some  things  which  even  Great  Britain  could  not  endure,  limits  to 
the  power  of  acquiescence  possessed  even  by  a  Colonial  Secretary.  The 


494  MR.    KRUGER'S   FIRST  PRESIDENCY. 

answer  to  this  bold  challenge  of  President  Kruger  was  the  Warren  ex- 
pedition. President  Kruger  had  already  succeeded  in  bringing  influence 
to  bear  at  Cape  Town  which  resulted  in  the  resignation  of  the  first  Dep- 
uty-Commissioner for  South  Bechuanaland  (John  Mackenzie).  He  now 
attempted  in  the  most  serious  wray  to  prevent  the  Warren  expedition 
from  coming,  and,  when  it  came,  to  prevent  it  from  being  of  any  service. 
He  had  skilfull  allies  in  this  work  at  Cape  Town  in  the  persons  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond  leaders  and  even  of  the  Governor  himself,  the  same 
Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  who  had  become  plastic  under  their  hands.  Mr. 
Reginald  Stathani,  the  biographer  of  Paul  Kruger,  whose  work  is  inac- 
curate at  various  important  points,  actually  has  the  courage  to  write 
concerning  the  Warren  expedition  that  it  was  completely  muzzled  and 
was  withdrawn  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  The  fact  is  that  no  mili- 

* 

tary  expedition  was  ever  so  successful  in  at  once  attaining  all  the  ends 
for  which  it  was  sent,  and  doing  so  without  one  battle.  The  Boers  were 
thoroughly  cowed  all  along  the  western  border  by  this  display  of  British 
determination  and  by  the  brilliant  generalship  and  the  brilliant  diplo- 
macy of  Sir  Charles  Warren.  Mr.  Stathani  says  that  "in  the  end  Bechu- 
analand became  a  British  colony."  This  was  the  very  purpose  of  the 
expedition  and  was  fully  secured  by  it,  for  when  Sir  Charles  in  a  leisurely 
fashion  concluded  his  work,  he  left  behind  him  an  Administrator  who 
had  already  begun  his  active  service  in  Bechuanaland. 

During  this  expedition,  an  interview  was  arranged  between  President 
Kruger  and  Sir  Charles  Warren  which  took  place  a  short  way  within 
the  Transvaal  territory  at  Fourteen  Streams.  Probably  at  no  time  in  his 
life  before  had  President  Kruger  found  himself  so  unable  to  obtain  new 
concessions  or  compromises  as  on  this  occasion.  He  and  his  Government 
were  openly  and  undeniably  in  the  wrong  and  all  his  efforts  to  assert  him- 
self, to  humble  the  expedition  and  render  it  abortive,  were  in  vain. 

In  this  very  year,  1885,  the  most  rapid  development  of  the  gold  mining 
system  in  the  Transvaal  began.  It  was  these  developments  which  with- 
drew the  attention  of  the  Boers  from  the  people  beyond  their  borders 
and  concentrated  it  upon  internal  problems.  For  a  number  of  years  gold 
miners  had  already  proved  themselves  the  bane  of  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment. East  of  Johannesburg  there  had  grown  up  the  community  called 
Barberton  where  the  first  important  gold  mines  were  found.  That  had 


MR.   KRUGERS  FIRST  PRESIDENCY.  495 

been  one  of  the  centers  of  disaffection  and  the  source  of  annoyance 
for  several  years  before  the  annexation.  When  the  extraordinary  gold 
deposits  were  discovered  under  the  arid  ridges  of  the  Witwatersrand  the 
Transvaal  entered  upon  the  most  extraordinary  period  of  history  ever 
encountered  by  any  people.  Hitherto  the  chief  gold  districts  of  the  world 
have  been  discovered  beyond  the  verges  of  European  civilization.  The 
gold  miners  who  have  rushed  in  have  found  themselves  in  regions  where 
they  at  once  formed  the  community  and  created  the  government.  But 
in  the  Transvaal  there  already  existed  a  nation  of  farmers  whose  old 
system  of  legislation  and  administration  was  adapted  to  a  rustic  popula- 
tion. Upon  them  in  their  primitive  mode  of  life  there  came  at  once  the 
possession  of  unexpected  and  unmeasured  wealth  and  the  task  of  meeting 
a  peaceful  invasion  more  difficult  to  thrust  back  than  British  soldiers, 
and  more  terrible  to  contemplate  even  than  a  British  Resident. 


CHAPTER  V. 
PRESIDENT    KRUGER    AND    THE    OUTLANDERS. 

THERE  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  place  which  President  Kruger  is  to 
occupy  in  the  estimation  of  posterity  will  be  determined  by  the 
way  in  which  he  has  met  the  conditions  created  in  the  Transvaal 
by  the  gold  mines.  The  story  can  not  be  fully,  still  less  can  it  be  impar- 
tially told,  until  some  more  years  have  elapsed  and  the  passions  of  the 
hour  have  been  stilled;  but  the  day  is  coming  when  historians  will  turn 
over  the  archives  of  the  Boer  Government  and  trace  the  course  of  legisla- 
tion which  President  Kruger  has  steadily  initiated  from  the  year  1885  to 
the  year  1899.  There,  and  in  the  records  of  various  public  companies, 
as  well  as  in  the  despatches  which  have  passed  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  Transvaal  the  whole  story  is  forever  recorded  of  the  capacity 
or  incapacity  of  Mr.  Kruger  to  meet  the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  by 
the  Outlanders  in  response  to  his  own  invitation. 

First  of  all  of  course,  in  sheer  justice  to  President  Kruger,  the  his- 
torian will  concentrate  attention  on  the  tumultuous  life  created  by  the 
arrival  in  a  constant  stream  of  tens  of  thousands  of  Europeans  and 
Americans.  They  will  tell  how  these  spread  themselves  over  one  farm 
after  another,  scratching  the  ground  for  gold,  making  bargains  with 
bewildered  and  astounded  farmers  for  the  purchase  of  their  lands, 
and  floating  companies  without  number,  many  of  which  enriched  the 
founders  and  ruined  countless  investors.  He  will  tell  how  some  of 
these  farmers  became  enormously  rich  who  until  that  year  had  been, 
as  regards  the  possession  of  cash  or  a  bank  account,  notoriously  or 
even  distressingly  poor.  He  will  tell  how  it  was  that  President  Kruger 
sold  some  of  his  own  land  for  £100,000  (about  $500,000).  He  will  record 
the  fact  that  in  a  few  years  the  Outlanders  owned  more  than  half  the 
land  of  the  Transvaal. 

But  he  will  turn  to  another  side  of  the  story.  He  will  describe  the 
inevitable  panic  which  came  in  1888  when  company  after  company 
collapsed  and  the  whole  work  of  development  had  to  be  begun  over 

496 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  497 

again  on  a  sound  financial  and  an  honorable  commercial  basis.  He  will 
then  tell  the  story  of  the  arrival  of  experienced  organizers  and  engineers 
who  formed  strong  syndicates  and  adopted  the  most  modern  methods 
of  mining,  adapting  these  to  the  unique  conditions  found  on  the  Eand. 
He  will  tell  how  this  beginning  of  a  healthier  life  in  the  Johannes- 
burg community  led  to  the  rapid  building  up  of  a  splendid  city.  He 
will  tell  how  the  very  nature  of  the  gold  deposits,  demanding  the  high- 
est financial  and  engineering  as  well  as  organizing  skill,  brought  to 
the  country  from  England  and  America  and  Australia  men  of  the 
highest  education  and  experience;  how  they  brought  as  subordinate 
officers  of  their  companies  hundreds  of  younger  men,  to  whom  this  city 
was  to  become  a  permanent  home  and  who  proceeded  to  build  com- 
fortable residences  and  lay  out  lovely  gardens  on  the  dreary  arid  ridges 
of  the  Rand.  He  will  tell  the  story  of  the  arrival  of  scores  of  thousands 
of  black  people  from  every  direction  who,  pouring  into  the  service  of  the 
miners,  found  themselves  in  the  midst  of  a  life  utterly  strange,  full 
of  excitement,  offering  temptations  only  to  evil  and  opportunities  un- 
dreamed of  for  intoxication  and  crime. 

In  view  of  these  extraordinary  conditions,  the  historian  will  inevit- 
ably be  driven  to  ask  himself,  how  did  the  strenuous  and  shrewd  Pres- 
ident of  the  Republic  meet  the  perplexing  problems  thrust  upon  him 
and  his  farmer  associates  in  the  Government,  of  the  country?  The 
final  judgment  of  President  Kruger's  worth  as  a  man,  as  a  patriot,  and 
as  a  statesman  will  depend  upon  the  answer  to  that  question. 

Before  we  attempt  to  forecast  the  lines  along  which,  as  it  seems 
to  us,  the  answer  will  certainly  come  into  view,  let  us  pause  to  consider 
with  deepest  sympathy  the  position  of  this  man.  We  must  recall  his 
birth  in  a  frontier  village,  his  early  years  passed  in  a  continual  series 
of  wagon  journeys  and  native  fights,  his  young  manhood  given  over  to 
the  care  of  cattle  and  warfare,  now  with  rival  sections  of  his  own  race, 
and  anon  with  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  land.  We  must  recall  the 
fact  that  during  these  very  years  when  a  far  cleverer  man  than  he 
was  President,  himself  Vice-President  and  Joubert  Commandant-Gen- 
eral, the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  notoriously  and  indisputably 
collapsed.  It  proved  itself  unfit  to  govern  50,000  white  people,  almost 
all  of  whom  were  farmers,  and  the  native  chiefs  among  and  around 


498  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

them.  We  must  remember  that  the  fire  of  patriotism  in  these  people 
was  kept  alive  by  two  passionate  desires,  the  desires  namely  to  control 
the  native  tribes  and  to  be  uncontrolled  by  the  British  Government. 
We  must  recall  the  fact  that  throughout  the  period  of  four  years  after 
the  annexation  President  Kruger  burned  with  this  fire  of  patriotism, 
and  that  in  1881  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal,  which  had  once 
more  been  given  to  the  farmers  themselves,  rested  mainly,  almost  en- 
tirely, upon  the  insistent  will  of  this  one  man  and  the  concentration  of 
his  life  upon  one  idea.  We  must  recall  also  the  fact  that  during  the 
four  or  five  years  succeeding  the  restoration  of  the  independence  the 
Boer  Government  did  practically  nothing  in  the  way  of  reorganiza- 
tion of  public  wrorks.  In  fact  the  earlier  years  of  President  Kruger's 
administration  boded  no  good  to  his  career;  in  1884  poverty  once  more 
began  to  stare  them  in  the  face  and  signs  of  disaffection  were  not 
awanting.  But  from  the  year  '85  onwrards  President  Kruger  and  his 
Government  were  confronted  by  a  situation  unparalleled  in  the  history 
of  any  white  community.  They  found  themselves  in  charge  of  European 
cities  whose  natural  problems  wrere  severely  intensified  by  the  influx 
of  lawless  and  irresponsible  natives.  What  were  the  farmers  to  do 
with  these  people?  What  was  President  Kruger  to  do  with  them? 
Was  his  mind  large  enough  in  grasp,  his  heart  deep  enough  in  sym- 
pathy, his  imagination  broad  enough  to  see  that  the  safety  of  his 
Republic  lay  along  a  certain  line  of  conduct,  and  that  another  road 
which  opened  before  him  must  lead  to  destruction? 

As  we  have  said  above  this  question  can  only  be  answered  by  looking 
at  the  actual  course  of  legislation  and  the  actual  effect  of  the  Boer 
administration  upon  the  happiness  of  their  own  cities  and  the  pros- 
perity of  their  own  country.  The  defenders  of  President  Kruger's 
administration  make  it  as  their  strong  point  that,  while  he  himself 
desired  throughout  to  act  generously  towards  the  Outlanders,  to  grant 
them  all  the  reasonable  demands  which  they  made,  he  was  restrained 
by  the  conservatism  of  his  farmers.  They  who  are  his  strong  supporters 
would  have  rebelled,  it  is  said,  if  they  had  seen  him  proceed  suddenly 
to  the  passing  of  measures  which  accorded  rights  to  the  Outlanders 
that  would  place  them  in  a  superior  political  position  to  the  rustic 
population  who  hitherto  had  ruled  the  land.  The  difficulty  in  the  wray 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  499 

of  carrying  through  this  theory,  that  President  Kruger  has  really 
been  a  broad-minded  statesman  working  under  the  appearance  of  nar- 
rowness in  deference  to  his  constituents,  arises  from  three  facts.  First, 
that  a  considerable  party  led  by  Joubert  have  always  been  opposed  to 
the  narrower  measures  of  Mr.  Kruger.  If  he  had  lost  the  support  of 
some  he  would  have  gained,  it  would  seem,  the  powerful  support  of  his 
former  rival  by  progressive  legislation.  In  the  second  place,  most  of 
the  legislation  for  which  he  is  responsible  actually  and  positively  im- 
posed restrictions  upon  the  Outlanders  which  did  not  exist  when  they 
began  to  arrive.  It  was  surely  within  his  power  to  have  refused  to 
initiate  this  class  of  legislation  instead  of  being  as  he  was  the  untiring 
originator  of  it  all.  And  in  the  third  place,  it  is,  we  believe,  amply  proved 
that  a  considerable  amount  of  the  legislation  which  he  did  persuade  the 
Raad  to  enact  was  rendered  useless  by  the  method  of  administration 
which  he  employed.  So  much  was  this  the  case  that  a  large  part  of  the 
bitterness  of  the  Outlanders  was  caused  by  the  repeated  disappoint- 
ments which  they  experienced  when  they  found  that  legislation  which 
the  President  had  promised  them,  when  hard  pressed  by  their  demands 
and  their  arguments,  proved  utterly  unreal  when  it  was  put  into  prac- 
tice. Either  the  Government  was  incompetent  to  make  and  administer 
effective  legislation  or  President  Kruger  was  forced,  or  imagined  him- 
self forced,  to  deceive  the  Outlanders  time  after  time  in  order  to  get  rid 
of  their  importunity  and  preserve  his  unyielding  position  at  the  same 
time. 

A  very  impressive  illustration  of  the  difficulties  and  temptations 
which  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  upon  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  associates  can  be 
found  by  a  mere  glance  at  the  history  of  the  financial  position  of  the 
Transvaal.  In  the  year  1874  the  revenue  of  the  country  was  just  about 
£50,000  (about  f  250,000),  and  the  expenditure  about  £45,500  (about  $225,- 
000).  In  the  year  1882  the  revenue  had  risen  to  about  £180,000  (about 
1900,000),  while  the  expenditure  only  reached  about  £115,000  (about 
$570,000).  In  the  year  1886  the  relation  of  the  revenue  and  expendi- 
ture maintained  the  same  healthy  appearance,  for  in  that  year  while 
the  income  was  nearly  £200,000  (nearly  f  1,000,000)  the  expenditure  was 
little  more  than  £150,000  (about  $750,000).  This  was  the  year  when  the 
gold  mines  at  the  Witwatersrand  were  opened  and  Johannesburg  was 


r>00  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

established.  In  the  following  year  the  income  had  reached  the  sum  of 
nearly  £640,000  (considerably  more  than  $3,000,000);  the  expenditure 
still  fell  far  behind  the  income,  amounting  to  somewhat  more  than 
£590,000  (less  than  $2,900,000).  Another  great  leap  was  taken  in  the 
year  1894,  another  again  in  1897.  In  the  year  1899  the  Budget  esti- 
mates placed  the  revenue  at  the  enormous  figure  of  £4,087,852  (about 
$20,000,000),  while  the  expenditure  was  estimated  at  £3,951,234  (about 
$19,350,000). 

A  still  more  astonishing  and  suggestive  range  of  thought  is  opened 
up  by  a  glance  at  the  growth  of  the  fixed  salaries  paid  by  the  Transvaal 
Government  to  its  officials.  In  1886  the  salaries  amounted  to  a  little 
more  than  £50,000  (about  $250,000).  In  the  year  1893  they  had  risen  to 
£360,000  (about  $1,700,000).  In  1899  the  Budget  estimate  of  the  sal- 
aries amounted  to  the  astonishing  figure  of  £1,216,000  (about  $6,000,000). 
That  is  to  say  the  salary  list  had  been  multiplied  in  thirteen  years  to  a 
sum  twenty-four  times  what  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  that  period.  Now 
the  white  population  upon  whose  interests  these  officials  expend  their 
lives  had  during  that  period  been  little  more  than  doubled.  To  put  it 
in  another  way,  the  Transvaal  is  inhabited  by  somewhere  near  200,000 
white  people,  men,  women  and  children.  The  salaries  paid  to  the  Gov- 
ernment officials,  apart  from  all  other  expenses  incurred  in  directing 
the  affairs  of  that  population,  amounted  to  about  $6,000,000  last  year; 
if  applied  to  the  United  States  population  of  70,000,000  the  same  scale  of 
official  salaries  would  reach  the  sum  of  $2,000,000,000. 

The  significance  of  these  figures  is  enormous  when  we  remember 
that  after  the  recovery  of  their  independence  the  Boers  finally 
decided  to  secure  in  the  work  of  administration  the  aid  of  men  of 
European  training  and  preferably  of  Hollander  birth  and  education. 
These  men  went  out  to  the  Transvaal  into  the  service  of  President 
Kruger's  government,  or  went  out  on  his  invitation  to  form  commercial 
syndicates  of  various  kinds,  without  any  deep  love  for  the  country 
which  was  not  their  native  country  or  for  the  farmers  who  constituted 
its  ruling  population,  but  who  were  one  and  all  beneath  themselves 
in  culture  and  experience.  They  went  there  to  make  their  fortunes, 
and  large  numbers  of  them  have  done  so.  They  accepted  office  and 
entered  upon  their  work  of  administration  in  the  same  spirit  exactly 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  501 

and  for  the  same  purpose  that  another  set  of  Hollanders  went  to  the 
gold  mines.  The  real  inward  history  of  all  the  commercial  troubles  and 
the  legislative  struggles  in  the  Transvaal  for  the  last  twelve  or  fifteen 
years  can  not  be  told  unless  the  historian  grasps  and  knows  in  detail  the 
facts  concerning  the  prolonged  rivalry  between  the  men  who  were 
seeking  to  make  their  fortunes  by  means  of  the  gold  mines  and  ordinary 
commercial  enterprises,  and  the  other  set  of  men  who  were  seeking  to 
make  their  fortunes  by  means  of  Government  concessions  or  monopolies 
and  the  use  of  governmental  appointments.  It  is  a  sordid  and  despicable 
story,  but  the  conscience  of  the  world  when  it  knows  the  facts  will  con- 
demn most  thoroughly,  not  the  men  who  frankly  sought  wealth  by  the 
ordinary  means  of  open  individual  competition,  but  the  men  who  sought 
it  through  the  hypocrisy  of  public  service  and  the  method  of  govern- 
mental monopolies.  Who  would  expect  that  President  Kruger  could 
hold  his  own  or  even  begin  to  see  daylight  amidst  the  darkness  of  these 
enormous  financial  transactions  and  commercial  rivalries?  To  him  the 
very  language  employed  in  the  very  laws  which  he  was  supposed  to 
initiate,  to  administer  and  to  defend  was  a  new  language,  and  the 
economic  conditions  which  he  was  expected  to  control  and  direct  were 
such  as  he  had  only  heard  of  or  only  seen  superficially  when  he  visited 
the  capitals  of  Europe  and  which  he  had  always  despised  as  a  religious 
man,  feared  as  a  politician,  and  hated  as  a  farmer.  Well  might  he  in 
the  utter  confusion  of  his  mind  often  cry  out,  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things?" 

As  a  matter  of  fact  President  Kruger  in  his  capacity  as  President 
has  been*  a  man  possessed  and  driven  by  one  sole  political  idea,  namely, 
that  of  the  independence  of  his  county.  By  this  he  meant  simply  at  first 
the  freedom  of  the  Transvaal  from  British  control.  For  this  he  has  sacri- 
ficed all  else.  In  order  not  to  be  under  British  rule  he  put  his  official 
appointments  into  the  hands  of  Outlanders  from  Holland.  In  order  to 
prevent  all  possibility  of  British  influence  he  shut  the  door  of  the  fran- 
chise in  the  faces  of  all  British  and  American  citizens,  keeping  it  wide 
open  for  Hollanders  who  came  to  be  officials  of  his  Government,  or  could 
prove  that  they  had  been  of  service  to  the  State.  Even  South  Africans 
from  Cape  Colony  and  Natal,  and  at  times  even  from  the  Orange  Free 
State,  were  treated  by  him  with  a  jealousy  not  evidently  cherished 


502  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

towards  those  whom  he  had  adopted  and  rested  upon  as  advisers  of  the 
State.  Thus  his  passion  for  the  independence  of  the  Transvaal  was 
swiftly  changed  into  the  determination  to  maintain  the  supremacy  of 
one  race  within  the  Transvaal. 

The  main  legislative  and  administrative  problems  which  have 
haunted  President  Kruger's  recent  years  arose  from  three  directions. 
First,  the  organization  and  government  of  Johannesburg,  second,  the 
treatment  of  the  Outlanders,  especially  those  who  spoke  English,  in 
matters  of  the  franchise  and  education,  third,  the  development  of  com- 
mercial undertakings  by  means  of  government  concessions  or  monopo- 
lies. The  evidence  appears  to  be  abundant  that  in  all  three  directions 
President  Kruger  became  the  miserable  victim  of  the  official  class  whom, 
he  had  created,  who  misled  him  with  their  advice,  played  upon  his  fear 
of  British  interference,  involved  him  in  responsibilities  wThich  made  him 
the  supporter  of  their  dishonorable  proceedings.  In  fact  the  man  who 
had  shown  himself  brave  on  the  battlefield,  noble  in  his  passion  for 
patriotism  in  that  war  of  independence,  shrewd  when  dealing  with 
British  diplomatists  about  simple  matters  like  a  boundary  line  or  the 
payment  of  a  debt,  was  utterly  swamped  by  the  onrush  of  complex 
financial  and  administrative  problems  which  he  had  neither  the  train- 
ing nor  perhaps  the  brains  to  comprehend.  But  he  brought  into  this  life 
if  not  a  new  capacity,  at  any  rate  the  old  tenacity;  an  idea  once  seized 
by  him  is  seized  forever,  it  apprehends  him  and  holds  him  as  its  servant 
henceforth.  Let  us  see  how  this  can  be  illustrated  in  somewhat  of 
detail. 

First  then  did  President  Kruger  encounter  the  municipal  problems 
of  Johannesburg  in  an  adequate  manner?  It  must  be  remembered  that 
Johannesburg  has  grown  in  ten  years  to  be  a  city  of  more  than  100,000 
people.  More  than  half  of  these  are  Europeans,  most  of  them  men  of 
great  energy,  large  numbers  of  them  highly  educated  and  powerful  per- 
sonalities. Hundreds  of  them  knew  far  more  of  municipal  affairs  than 
President  Kruger,  with  whom  the  last  word  regarding  the  history  and 
condition  of  their  city  always  remained.  After  considerable  trouble 
Mr.  Kruger  was  induced  to  grant  a  municipality  to  the  citizens.  Natu- 
rally one  would  expect  this  to  mean  that  the  citizens  as  a  whole  should 
elect  their  own  council  and  this  council  should  direct  under  general 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  503 

legislative  limitations  or  precautions  the  internal  affairs  of  the  city,  that 
they  should  manage  their  own  sanitation,  their  own  street  cleaning, 
etc.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  according  to  the  system  established  at  Johan- 
nesburg, it  was  secured  that  the  majority  of  the  council  should  be  repre- 
sentatives of  the  small  Boer  element  in  the  city  and  practically  crea- 
tures of  the  national  executive.  Still  more  the  mayor  of  the  city  was 
not  elected  by  the  citizens  but  appointed  by  the  Government,  that  is, 
by  President  Kruger;  and  the  mayor  had  the  right  of  absolute  veto 
upon  all  their  resolutions  and  ordinances. 

The  result  of  this  legislation  was  to  get  the  actual  control  into  the 
hands  of  those  who  on  every  matter  obeyed  the  will  of  the  President 
and  Executive  Government  of  the  State.  Various  most  miserable  com- 
plications arose  with  regard  to  sanitary  affairs,  the  enforcing  of  local 
laws,  the  police  control  of  vile  black  criminals  and  innumerable  other 
matters  which  caused  discomfort  and  dispeace  in  the  city,  and  which 
those  who  were  in  authority  were  in  reality  unfit  to  cope  with  and  to 
put  right.  It  would  be  absolutely  unfair  to  blame  President  Kruger 
for  all  the  failures  in  the  municipal  government  of  Johannesburg. 
New  cities  which  grow  rapidly  must  ever  have  domestic  problems  of 
organization  laid  upon  them  which  they  will  find  it  perhaps  impossible 
to  undertake.  That  which  however  strikes  one  in  reading  the  history 
of  the  Johannesburg  municipality  is  the  absence  of  trust,  or,  rather,  the 
continual  influence  of  distrust  which  President  Kruger  openly  mani- 
fested towards  the  citizens  long  before  the  year  1895.  He  would  not 
allow  the  Government  to  give  them  the  opportunity  for  bringing  their 
city  under  modern  methods  of  municipal  organization.  The  system  of 
municipal  government  whick  he  allowed  was  chiefly  inadequate  because 
of  its  dependence  upon  himself  through  the  relation  of  its  chief  officials 
to  himself. 

But  to  turn  in  another  direction  let  us  inquire  how  President 
Kruger  dealt  with  the  question  of  the  franchise.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  in  1881,  wThen  matters  were  being  discussed  at  the  Pretoria 
Convention,  the  question  was  raised  as  to  how  the  foreigners  were  being 
treated  and  would  be  treated.  President  Kruger  made  a  statement 
which  was  accepted  as  a  pledge  and  as  a  sincere  description  of  his 
policy,  or  the  spirit  of  his  policy,  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  said  that 


504  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

.- 

all  foreigners  were  treated  with  generosity  when  they  came  into  the 
Transvaal,  and  that  they  became  full  burghers  or  citizens  at  the  end  of 
one  year.  In  the  year  1882  it  is  true  that  the  law  had  already  been 
modified  and  Great  Britain  had  made  no  objections.  At  that  time 
foreigners  could  become  naturalized  and  enfranchised  citizens  at  the 
end  of  a  five  years'  residence,  this  residence  to  be  proved  by  registration 
in  the  books  of  the  Veldt-Cornet,  a  local  official  in  each  district.  Great 
difficulty  was  of  course  found  in  complying  with  this  law  where  Veldt- 
Cornets,  as  was  so  often  the  case,  were  uneducated  men  who  did  not 
know  howT  to  keep  books.  In  the  following  year,  1883,  President  Kruger 
made  his  famous  visit  to  London,  and  in  April  of  1884,  while  still  in 
London,  he  issued  through  the  press  his  famous  announcement  that  the 
Transvaal  Government  welcomed  foreigners,  promised  them  generous 
and  fair  treatment,  even  desired  them  to  come  in  for  the  development 
of  the  gold  industry.  He  had,  just  six  weeks  before,  signed  the  Conven- 
tion, in  which  he  bound  himself  to  accord  to  British  citizens  in  all  their 
undertakings  justice  and  fair  dealing.  Of  course  no  stipulations  were 
made  about  the  franchise  because  no  one  dreamed  at  the  time,  and 
President  Kruger  less  than  anybody  else  probably,  that  anything  so 
unjust  in  fact,  and  so  untrue  to  the  spirit  of  the  Convention,  could 
possibly  be  undertaken  as  the  franchise  legislation  which  began  in  the 
year  1890.  From  the  year  mentioned  onwards  the  laws  regarding 
naturalization  and  enfranchisement  in  the  Transvaal  have  undergone 
repeated  alteration.  Until  last  July,  1899,*  these  alterations  all  tended 
to  complicate  the  matter  for  Outlanders,  to  make  the  possession  of  the 
franchise  so  difficult  and  the  steps  to  it  so  disagreeable  that  the  majority 
of  foreigners  were  unable  or  unwilling  to  fulfill  the  conditions.  The 
result  was  a  law,  which,  of  course,  President  Kruger  introduced,  de- 
fended and  urged  before  the  Volksraad,  and  for  which  his  main  argu- 
ment was  that  it  would  preserve  the  independence  of  his  people.  This 
law  we  have  described  elsewhere.  In  brief  it  may  be  stated  that  it 
demanded  the  oath  of  allegiance,  which  secured  naturalization,  two 
years  after  registration  on  the  books  of  the  Veldt-Cornet  This  naturali- 
zation placed  a  man  under  all  the  obligations  of  citizenship,  including 
that  which  in  the  Transvaal  has  ever  been  the  most  prominent  and  to 
foreigners  the  most  disagreeable,  namely,  the  liability  to  military  ser- 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  505 

vice.  Every  citizen  was  bound  to  fight  against  any  one  whom  the 
Commandant-General  described  as  enemies  of  the  Republic.  A  week 
therefore  after  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  any  citizen  of  Johannes- 
burg was  liable  to  be  sent  off  with  rifle  and  cartridge-belt  to  the  bor- 
ders, to  attack  some  native  tribe  with  whom  a  quarrel  had  been  picked 
and  whose  lands  were  to  be  divided  amongst  the  younger  sons  of  Dutch 
farmers.  At  the  end  of  ten  years  after  the  oath  was  taken  the  Outlander, 
who  was  not  yet  a  full  citizen  it  must  be  remembered,  might  apply  for 
the  franchise;  his  application  must  be  supported  by  two-thirds  of  the 
burghers  of  his  neighborhood,  must  come  before  the  President  and  his 
Executive  Council  and  be  by  them  approved  ere  the  full  rights  of  citi- 
zenship could  be  confirmed!!  Of  course  it  was  absolutely  uncertain 
whether  the  President  would  give  the  franchise  to  any  individual  even 
after  ten  years  of  waiting  for  the  right.  If  the  individual  were  an 
influential  man  of  a  progressive  type  his  chances  were  small  indeed. 
It  was  in  1893  that  this  law  received  its  greatest  development  and  most 
strenuous  conditions.  It  wras  introduced  as  usual  suddenly  into  the 
Volksraad  and  was  passed  rapidly  over  all  opposition.  Some  of  the 
most  intelligent  men  spoke  with  intense  earnestness  against  the  pro- 
posal, but  they  spoke  in  vain.  It  is  reported  that  one  of  the  Boers, 
when  the  debate  was  closed  and  the  law  was  carried,  exclaimed:  "Now 
our  country  is  gone!  Nothing  can  settle  this  but  a  fight  and  there  is 
only  one  end  to  the  fight.  Kruger  and  his  Hollanders  have  taken  our 
independence  more  surely  than  ever  Shepstone  did."  (Fitzpatrick,  The 
Transvaal  from  Within,  P.  77.)  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  the  most  detailed 
historian  of  this  critical  period  on  President  Kruger's  life,  says  that  the 
passing  of  this  measure  revealed  for  the  first  time  to  the  entire  com- 
munity Mr.  Kruger's  unbending  hostility  towards  the  Outlanders.  Many 
of  them  and  many  of  his  own  citizens  had  not  hitherto  lost  hope  that 
the  day  of  reconciliation  would  come,  that  under  pressure  he  would 
yield  and  accord  them  their  real  rights;  but  the  passing  of  this  law 
compelled,  through  a  wider  area  than  before,  the  conviction  that  Mr. 
Kruger  would  never  yield,  that  he  was  determined  rather  to  use  every 
means  for  preventing  the  Outlanders  from  becoming  citizens  of  the 
Transvaal.  "It  might  be  said  that  within  an  hour  the  scales  dropped 


506  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

from  the  eyes  of  the  too  credulous  community,  and  the  gravity  of  the 
position  was  instantly  realized."  (Fitzpatrick,  Ibid.) 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  in  order  to  do  justice  to  the  facts, 
that  we  should  keep  in  clear  view  the  very  pitiable  position  in  which 
President  Kruger  found  himself  at  this  time.  He  did  not  understand 
the  spirit  of  the  British  and  American  immigrants,  but  he  hated  them. 
He  took  for  granted  that  when  they  became  citizens  they  would  unite 
their  political  energies  to  bring  the  Transvaal  under  the  British  flag. 
He  feared  that  if  they  became  citizens,  and  outnumbered  the  Boer 
voters,  they  would  prevent  the  development  of  the  great  Afrikander 
ideal  which  looked  towards  the  establishment  of  a  Dutch  Kepublic 
throughout  South  Africa.  Of  course  these  things  could  never  happen. 
There  is  abundant  evidence  that  all  who  would  have  forsaken  their 
British  citizenship  in  order  to  become  Transvaal  burghers  would  have 
remained  true  to  their  oath  of  allegiance;  in  fact,  it  is  practically  cer- 
tain that  they  would  have  been  as  determined  to  maintain  their  inde- 
pendence and  self-government  as  President  Kruger  himself.  But  then 
President  Kruger  had  avowedly  denounced  and  could  not  understand 
them.  Moreover,  he  had  surrounded  himself  with  the  class  of  men 
already  referred  to,  the  Hollander  official  class,  who  were  now  making 
fortunes  out  of  enormous  salaries  and  innumerable  government  con- 
cessions. It  was  they  who  nourished  his  poor  fear,  who  embittered 
his  reiterated  cry,  "The  independence  of  my  people."  To  them  the 
whole  matter  was  a  mere  selfish  contest,  it  was  capitalist  against  capi- 
talist, fortune-seeker  against  fortune-seeker.  They  were  in  the  happy 
position  of  being  officials  and  therefore  appointed  by  the  President 
and  Ms  Executive  to  enjoy  the  full  privileges  of  citizenship.  They  did 
not  wait  twelve  years,  they  were  exempt  as  an  official  class  from  military 
burdens,  and  they  kept  poisoning  the  heart  of  the  now  aging,  bewil- 
dered but  stubborn  President  against  men  of  far  higher  attainments 
and  quite  as  lofty  characters,  who  were  eager  to  be  as  faithful  citizens 
as  they.  Here,  therefore,  again  perhaps  through  no  fault  of  character, 
President  Kruger  as  a  statesman  was  a  failure. 

President  Kruger  took  one  step  in  the  year  1890  which  seemed  to 
promise  the  beginning  of  new  days  for  the  Outlanders  and  was,  there- 
fore, cordially  welcomed  by  them.  This  was  the  institution  of  a  second 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  507 

legislative  chamber  or  Lower  House.  This  House  was  avowedly  created 
for  the  sake  of  the  mining  cities.  The  members  were  chosen  by  all 
who  had  been  naturalized,  and  all  who  had  been  naturalized  for  a 
certain  brief  period  and  were  thirty  years  of  age,  were  eligible  for 
membership  in  it.  It  was  created  for  the  purpose  of  superintending 
the  affairs  of  the  mining  population  and  especially  the  industrial  inter- 
ests thereof.  This,  Mr.  Kruger's  friends  urged,  was  a  very  great  step; 
it  was  taken  with  a  view  on  one  hand  to  conciliate  the  Outlanders  and 
to  do  them  justice,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  prepare  his  own  suspicious 
and  conservative  Boer  population  for  the  inevitable  day  when  the  for- 
eigners must  possess  full  powers  of  citizenship  in  the  country.  Such  a 
measure  was  of  course  most  wise  and  statesmanlike;  and  if  it  had  been 
faithfully  carried  out  it  would  have  redounded  to  the  lasting  credit  of 
President  Kruger.  But  that  which  his  critics  assert  and  which  his 
friends  are  unable  thoroughly  to  demolish  is,  that  the  Second  Volks- 
raad  was  never  allowed  to  become  an  efficient  source  of  legislation  even 
on  the  matters  placed  within  its  power.  A  few  enactments  took  place 
no  doubt,  but  it  is  alleged  that  the  most  important  were  invariably 
rejected.  The  whole  legislation  of  this  Second  Raad  was  subject  to 
rejection  by  the  First  Raad,  in  which  the  Outlanders  were  not  repre- 
sented. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  alleged  that  enactments  were  freely 
passed  by  the  First  Vplksraad  without  the  criticism  or  approval  of 
the  Second  House  which  dealt  with  the  very  sphere  ostensibly  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  latter.  If  these  allegations  be  true,  and  they  are 
well  supported,  then  President  Kruger  was  not  statesmanlike  but 
cunning  in  the  creation  of  this  Second  House.  It  gave  him  the  appear- 
ance of  magnanimity,  while  in  reality  he  retained  all  the  former  power 
in  his  own  hands. 

A  similar  accusation  is  made  in  relation  to  the  important  matter 
of  education  among  the  Outlanders.  Laws  were  passed  which  imposed 
heavy  taxes,  mainly  upon  the  Outlanders,  for  the  support  of  a  public 
system  of  education.  But  the  application  of  the  taxes  was  so  directed 
that  the  Outlanders  could  only  have  the  service  of  inferior  and  inef- 
ficient teachers.  The  result  was  that  they  had  to  raise  very  large  sums 
by  private  subscription  in  order  to  secure  a  reasonable  education  for 
their  children. 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS. 

It  was  suggested  above  that  the  three  directions  in  which  the  success 
or  failure  of  President  Kruger  as  a  ruler  must  be  tested  were  the  con- 
trol of  the  municipalities,  the  political  treatment  of  the  Outlanders, 
and  the  development  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  in 
general.  Under  the  third  class  must  be  placed  the  difficult  and  dubious 
matters  connected  with  the  granting  of  concessions  by  the  Transvaal 
Government.  By  a  concession  is  of  course  meant  here  a  monopoly  in 
the  old  and  hateful  sense  of  the  term,  a  contract  according  to  which  the 
Government  guaranteed  to  an  individual  or  a  company  the  sole  right 
to  deal  in  certain  articles  of  commerce  and  protection  from  attempted 
competition.  For  this  privilege  the  monopolist  paid  nothing.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  these  concessions  were  given  into  the  hands  of 
individuals  or  syndicates,  all  of  whom  were  political  supporters  of 
President  Kruger  and  his  policy! 

The  most  important  of  these  concessions  is  undoubtedly  that  bear- 
ing upon  the  development  of  the  railway  system.  Of  course  a  railway 
system  is  peculiar  and  the  entire  subject  of  the  treatment  of  railways 
an  exceedingly  difficult  one.  Yet  it  can  be  openly  said  that  seldom  in 
the  history  of  railway  legislation  has  there  been  a  monopoly  more 
arbitrary  in  its  beginnings,  more  dangerous  in  its  development  than 
that  created  by  President  Kruger.  To  begin  with,  President  Kruger 
was  opposed  'to  all  railways  until  he  found  the  pressure  too  heavy  upon 
him.  He  was  induced  and  was  able  to  induce  his  burghers  to  agree  to 
the  making  of  a  railway  along  the  Eand,  connecting  the  various  mines 
together,  only  after  some  genius  thought  of  describing  it  not  as  a  rail- 
way but  as  a  "steam-tram."  The  rulers  of  the  Transvaal  who  feared  a 
railway  considered  a  steam-tram  a  safe  development.  But  the  entire  rail- 
way system  of  the  country  was  put  in  1887  into  the  hands  of  a  company 
called  the  Netherlands  Railway  Company,  most  of  whose  shareholders 
were  and  are  Europeans.  The  distribution  of  votes  among  shareholders 
was  so  arranged  that  out  of  112  votes  76  were  held  by  Hollanders,  who, 
therefore,  held  complete  control  of  the  policy  of  the  company.  The  story 
of  the  building  of  the  railway  upon  which  this  company  entered  is  a 
very  peculiar  one,  into  the  details  of  which  we  cannot  enter  here. 
Enormous  sums  of  money  were  spent  with  apparently  little  result  in 
the  extension  of  the  railway  to  Pretoria,  Protests  were  repeatedly 


PRESIDENT  KRUG'ER  AND  THE  OUTLANDERS.  500 

made  to  President  Kruger,  explanations  attempting  to  show  that  the 
country  was  being  cheated  were  urged  upon  his  attention,  but  all  in 
vain.  The  story  spread  over  the  country  that  the  Hollanders  should 
control  the  railway  and  not  men  of  English  or  American  birth.  He 
refused  to  believe  that  the  country  suffered  in  any  way,  and  in  spite 
of  the  most  elaborate  expositions  of  fraud  practised  upon  him,  stub- 
bornly remained  loyal  to  the  managers  of  the  company.  In  connection 
with  the  building  of  a  railway  called  the  Selati  Railway  an  instance  of 
corruption  is  told  by  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  ("The  Transvaal  From  Within," 
p.  69  f.)  which  can  hardly  be  beaten  by  similar  events  in  any  other 
country.  The  company  was  backed  by  the  Government.  It  "arranged 
with  the  contractors  to  build  the  line  at  the  maximum  cost  allowed 
in  the  concession,  £9,600  per  mile  (about  $48,000).  Two  days  later  this 
contractor  sublet  the  contract  for  £7,002  per  mile  (about  $35,000).  As 
the  distance  is  200  miles  the  Republic  was  robbed  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen 
of  £519,000  (more  than  two  and  one-half  million  dollars)."  This  kind  of 
thing  has  gone  on  elsewhere,  but  nowhere  else  is  successful  swin- 
dling like  this  considered  anything  but  a  proof  of  the  incapacity  or 
the  wickedness  of  those  who  hold  supreme  power.  Nowhere  else  is  it 
defended  as  patriotism!  There  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  this 
Netherlands  Company,  whose  shareholders  and  managers  were  as  much 
Outlanders  as  any  of  the  gold  miners  or  the  business  men  of  Johannes- 
burg, obtained  a  grasp  upon  the  commercial  life  of  the  community 
which  resulted  in  great  injustice  and  widened  the  breach  between  the 
Government  and  the  Outlanders.  So  extensive  was  the  influence  of 
the  Netherlands  Company  that  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  the  thoroughly  compe- 
tent and  evidently  trustworthy  historian  of  this  period,  puts  the  matter 
in  the  following  very  strong  way:  "As  the  holder  of  an  absolute 
monopoly,  as  the  enterprise  which  has  involved  the  State  in  its  national 
debt,  and  as  the  sole  channel  through  which  such  money  has  been  ex- 
pended, the  company  has  gradually  worked  itself  into  the  position  of 
being  the  financial  department  of  the  State;  and  the  functions  which 
were  elsewhere  exercised  by  the  heads  of  the  Government  belong  here, 
in  practice,  entirely  to  this  foreign  corporation." 

Another  concession  which  President  Kruger  was  drawn  into  grant- 
ing is  the  notorious  dynamite  monopoly.   Everyone  will  understand  that 


510  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND  THE  OUT  LANDERS. 

an  enormous  amount  of  dynamite  is  needed  constantly  in  mining  opera- 
tions. A  company  was  formed,  to  which  a  monopoly  was  given  for 
what  pretended  to  be  the  domestic  manufacture  of  dynamite  in  the 
Transvaal.  The  possession  of  this  monopoly  was  of  course  made  the 
occasion  for  charging  a  much  higher  price  than  could  have  been  charged 
if  there  had  been  competition.  It  is  true  that  another  company  had,  up 
to  the  year  1890,  made  very  heavy  charges,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
on  the  one  hand  that  no  railways  were  in  existence  at  that  time  and 
that  there  was  no  competition.  The  Outlanders  only  claimed,  as  it 
would  seem,  that  the  creation  of  a  Government  monopoly  prevented  the 
very  competition  which  was  necessary  to  reduce  the  price  of  dynamite 
to  a  reasonable  figure.  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  resultant  loss  to 
the  Witwatersrand  mines  alone,  which  is  due  to  the  excessive  price 
charged  for  dynamite,  amounts  to  £600,000  per  annum  (nearly  f 3,000,- 
000).  A  large  amount  of  agitation  naturally  expended  itself  upon  the 
effort  to  have  this  monopoly  abolished,  but  here  as  elsewhere  President 
Kruger  stood  faithfully  by  his  allies  and  political  supporters.  One 
curious  reason  which  he  gave  in  self-defence  was  that  "the  independ- 
ence of  the  country"  was  at  stake  even  in  the  granting  or  withdrawing 
of  this  monopoly.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  a  dynamite  manufactory 
is  also  a  powder  manufactory,  and  his  suggestion  was  that  he  must 
have  that  retained  within  the  country  in  order  to  have  a  base  for 
supplying  the  Republic  with  powder.  The  curious  fact  is  that  the 
materials  for  making  the  powder  and  dynamite  are  not  found  by  any 
company  in  the  Transvaal,  and  this  monopoly  company  itself  has  to 
import  all  the  materials  from  abroad!  Either  President  Kruger  was 
himself  kept  by  his  advisers  in  deep  ignorance  of  a  fact  so  important  as 
this,  which  makes  his  argument  look  like  nonsense,  or  he  grasped  at  it 
as  a  mere  excuse  for  maintaining  a  position  upon  which  he  had  deter- 
mined on  entirely  different  grounds. 

This  monopoly  system  was  extended  to  a  large  number  of  materials 
alike  for  industrial  purposes  and  even  for  the  feeding  of  the  people. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
PRESIDENT    KRUGER    AND    THE    RAID. 

THE  daily  pressure  of  all  the  wrongs  or  legal  injustices  which  were 
steadily  inflicted  upon  the  Outlanders  under  President  Kruger's 
administration  could  not  but  create  an  ever  deepening  and  widen- 
ing sense  of  wrong.  If  no  one  of  them  was  enough  to  justify  a  revolution, 
their  accumulation  may  wrell  have  become  intolerable.  Time  after  time 
representations  were  made  to  thePresident  by  individual  citizens  of  vari- 
ous nationalities,  by  a  committee  of  capitalists,  and  at  last  by  a  large 
association  wrhich  worked  under  the  name  of  the  Reform  Committee. 
President  Kruger  continued  to  meet  them  with  uncompromising  hos- 
tility. He  carried  out  to  the  bitter  end  the  policy  which  he  announced 
at  an  early  period  when  a  deputation  from  Johannesburg  came  before 
him  to  protest  against  a  certain  measure.  The  President  rose  sud- 
denly in  a  passion  and  blurted  out  the  blunt  truth  and  exposed  his 
desperate  policy  by  saying:  "Protest!  Protest!  What  is  the  good  of 
protesting?  You  have  not  got  the  guns.  I  have."  To  the  bitter  end 
President  Kruger  has  acted  upon  the  theory  that  he  has  the  guns,  and 
when  he  found  that  he  did  not  have  enough,  as  we  shall  see,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  get  more.  Matters  reached  a  climax,  as  we  have  fully  related 
elsewhere,  in  the  'year  1895,  when  the  Jameson  Raid  took  place. 
Throughout  that  year  the  Outlanders  had  with  unceasing  persistence 
attempted  to  win  some  amelioration  of  their  circumstances  from  him. 
One  by  one  the  leading  men  of  the  city  were  forced  to  confess  that  they 
had  no  hope  of  reform  at  his  hands.  They  accordingly  resolved  upon 
a  revolution  from  within.  The  taunt  has  been  hurled  at  them,  even 
by  Sir  H.  M.  Stanley,  that  they  w^ere  unwilling  to  fight  for  their  rights 
and  liberties;  and,  undoubtedly,  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  friends  after  their 
fiasco  persuaded  the  world  that  the  Johannesburgers  had  failed  at  the 
pinch  and  acted  in  a  cowardly-fashion.  This  accusation  is  profoundly 
unjust.  The  citizens  of  Johannesburg  wrere  arming  themselves,  were 
organizing  for  actual  warfare;  they  did  stand  ready  to  shed  their  blood 

511 


512  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

in  order  to  overturn  a  government  which  they  now  found  from  pro- 
longed experience  to  be  hopelessly  corrupt  and  determinedly  unjust. 
Dr.  Jameson  with  his  impatient  self-will,  anxious  to  be  the  Clive  of  this 
decade  and  of  South  Africa,  anxious  to  be  on  the  spot  when  heroic 
glory  should  make  him  great  forever,  threw  all  their  projects  into  ruins. 
For  them  the  hardest  part  of  their  experience  came  not  merely  when 
he  and  the  other  British  officers  overthrew  all  their  plans  and  made 
them  fools  before  the  world,  but  when  they  turned  round  upon  them,  the 
citizens  of  Johannesburg,  and  heaped  upon  them  the  unspeakable  re- 
proach of  cowardice.  No  doubt  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  officers  did  in  this 
way,  by  professing  contempt  for  the  Johannesburgers,  win  a  little  grace 
for  themselves  in  the  eyes  of  President  Kruger,  but  they  added  no  honor 
to  their  own  names  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  The  Reformers,  happily 
for  Dr.  Jameson,  suffered  and  suffered  severely  rather  than  expose  him. 

President  Kruger's  conduct  when  the  Raid  occurred,  was  character- 
ized by  a  great  vigor  and  patriotic  indignation.  It  was  one  of  the 
great  hours  of  his  life.  He  stood  forth  before  the  world  as  the  victim 
of  the  most  vile  conspiracy  imaginable.  An  Emperor  blessed  him  and 
decent  citizens  of  all  civilized  lands  sympathized  in  their  souls  with 
him.  He  knew  well  how  to  use  this  opportunity  to  the  utmost  advan- 
tage, and  nothing  could  exceed  the  shrewdness,  the  determination  and 
the  success  with  which  he  carried  through  the  negotiations  ensuing 
upon  the  Raid.  Throughout,  his  aim  was  to  stand  before  the  world  as 
a  deeply-wronged  man  who  was  displaying  at  every  step  an  unlimited 
magnanimity.  When  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  officers  surrendered  to 
General  Cronje  they  received  from  him  in  writing  the  assurance  of  their 
personal  safety.  When  they  got  to  Johannesburg  this  condition  was 
'  ignored  and  they  were  treated  as  men  who  were  entirely  at  the  mercy 
of  President  Kruger.  This  of  course  was  not  the  case.  But  it  enabled 
President  Kruger  to  be  magnanimous,  to  claim  first  that  they  were  at 
his  mercy,  and  then  show  them  mercy. 

In  relation  to  the  Reform  Committee  in  Johannesburg  his  attitude 
was  somewhat  the  same,  although  manifested  through  a  longer  period, 
in  which  he  kept  his  victims  in  fearful  and  harrowing  suspense. 

Poor  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  hurried  from  Cape  Town  to  Johannes- 
burg to  act  as  the  adviser  of  both  parties.  He  had  the  unpleasant  task 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID.  513 

of  facing  the  Transvaal  Government  in  the  capacity  of  a  Governor 
whose  own  subordinates  had  deceived  him  and  had  attempted  to  carry 
through  a  huge  conspiracy  without  his  knowledge.  He  therefore  stood 
before  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  sympathizers  without  dignity  and  without 
clearness  of  conscience.  He  found  that  Mr.  Kruger  had  determined  only 
to  treat  with  the  reformers  after  they  had  surrendered.  The  President 
threatened  to  use  force,  if  it  were  necessary,  to  compel  them  to  make  an 
unconditional  surrender.  There  can  be  no  doubt  however  that  when  Sir 
Hercules  Robinson  persuaded  the  reformers  to  give  themselves  up,  he  led 
them  to  understand  that  not  a  hair  of  their  heads  should  be  touched. 
One  of  the  powerful  arguments  which  he  was  able  to  bring  to  bear  was 
that  Jameson  and  his  companions  were  in  serious  danger  so  long  as 
the  reformers  maintained  an  attitude  of  resistance.  For  Sir  Hercules 
did  not  know  that  Cronje  had  guaranteed  their  personal  safety.  It  w^as 
therefore  for  the  sake  of  Dr.  Jameson  and  with  the  assurance  of  their 
own  personal  safety  that  the  reformers  finally  resolved  to  surrender 
themselves  to  the  Government. 

Then  proceeded  a.  long  series  of  events  in  every  one  of  which  Presi- 
dent Kruger  was  personally  concerned,  connected  with  the  trial,  the 
condemnation,  the  appeal,  the  imprisonment  and  at  last  the  liberation 
of  the  prisoners.  As  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  tells  the  story,  President  Kruger 
does  not  come  out  of  these  events  wTith  his  reputation  for  sincerity  and 
probity  of  heart  enhanced;  rather  does  it  seem  as  if  he  had  been  deter- 
mined on  the  one  hand  to  put  the  blame  very  heavily  upon  the  Outland- 
ers,  whom  his  soul  detested,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  get  as  much  out 
of  them  as  the  circumstances  would  allow  of  cash  and  of  glory.  He 
took  every  step  to  have  them  condemned.  He  even  allowed  them,  con- 
trary to  the  agreement  with  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  contrary  to  all 
modern  notions  of  justice,  to  be  tried  before  a  foreign  judge  imported  for 
the  occasion.  This  judge  allowed  them  to  plead  guilty  without  knowing 
the  system  of  law  under  which  they  were  pleading,  and  when  they  pled 
guilty,  he  accepted  their  plea  and  then  placed  their  case  under  the  law 
which  involved  the  sentence  of  death.  Having  thus  secured  their  legal 
condemnation  to  capital  punishment  President  Kruger  then,  after 
prolonged  consideration,  magnanimously  changed  their  sentence  to  a 
fine  and  mulcted  each  of  the  four  leaders  to  the  extent  of  £25,000  (about 


514  PRESIDENT  KRVGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

|125,000).  President  Kruger  then  wished  them  to  sign  a  document  ex- 
pressing their  profound  sense  of  his  magnanimity;  but  they  declined 
on  the  ground  that  they  were  paying  for  their  liberty  in  cash.  The  other 
reformers  were  condemned  to  imprisonment  and  then,  after  a  period 
of  miserable  and  undignified  haggling  were  released  on  certain  terms. 
Two  men,  Messrs.  Sampson  and  Davies,  feeling  that  they  had  been 
cheated,  utterly  refused  to  sign  any  petition  for  the  amelioration  of  their 
sentence,  on  the  ground  that  bare  justice  would  acquit  them  under  the 
terms  of  their  surrender.  When  all  the  rest  were  released  these  two 
unfortunate  men  wrere  kept  in  a  vile  imprisonment,  all  whose  details 
were  daily  adjusted  by  their  keeper  so  as  to  crush  their  spirits,  for  thir- 
teen months.  Every  week  one  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  the  Cape 
announced,  "To-day  Messrs.  Sampson  and  Davies  complete  the  —  week 
of  their  imprisonment  in  Pretoria  jail  for  the  crime  of  not  signing  a 
petition." 

Of  course  there  is  another  side  to  all  this.  Undoubtedly  the  reform- 
ers had  suffered  and  undoubtedly  their  pleas  for  reform  had  been  stead- 
ily and  unjustly  wrecked.  But  undoubtedly  also  President  Kruger, 
believing  himself  to  be  the  legal  ruler  of  the  land,  had  every  right  to  re- 
sent an  insurrection  and  above  all  to  resent  the  crime  of  an  alliance  with 
Dr.  Jameson  and  the  crime  of  the  Raid  itself.  There  was  abundant  and 
good  reason  for  a  burning  indignation  on  the  part  of  President  Kruger, 
and  so  far  as  he  believed  in  the  collusion  of  the  British  Government  and 
the  scheme  of  Mr.  Ehodes,  he  had  the  best  grounds  for  indignation  and 
resentment  against  them.  If  therefore  he  had  dealt  severely  with  those 
who  attacked  his  Government  and  threatened  the  independence  of  the 
country  he  would  have  received  the  approval  of  the  world  in  general. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  no  one  who  has  read  the  details  of  his  treatment 
of  the  whole  case  can  admire  his  spirit  or  approve  his  methods. 

After  the  Raid  it  might  be  well  expected  that  the  life  of  the  Trans- 
vaal should  begin  over  again.  No  ruler  of  a  republic  anywhere 
ought  to  have  allowed  such  an  event  to  occur  without  strenuous  investi- 
gation into  the  causes  which  had  produced  that  catastrophe  and  the 
resolve  to  remove  them.  But  let  it  be  remembered  that,  if  the  Raiders 
dishonored  themselves,  they  no  less  revealed  to  the  world  the  inward 
dishonor  and  failure  of  the  Transvaal  Government.  Any  government 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID.  515 

which  cannot  make  laws  and  carry  on  an  administration  to  the  satis- 
faction of  intelligent  and  honorable  citizens  such  as  those  of  Johannes- 
burg, is  condemned  before  all  the  world  for  incapacity  and  injustice. 
Undoubtedly  then  an  inquiry  was  to  be  expected  which  should  thor- 
oughly investigate  the  entire  course  of  events  which  had  produced  this 
shame,  and  reveal  the  open  sore  of  the  Transvaal  to  the  entire  civilized 
world.  After  much  pressure  President  Kruger  was  induced  to  appoint 
through  his  Executive  an  "Industrial  Commission  of  Inquiry."  Evi- 
dently the  President  imagined  at  this  time  that  his  Government  had 
been  perfectly  honorable  and  perfectly  efficient,  and  that  if  such  an 
inquiry  were  held  it  would  prove  to  the  world  that  the  entire  responsi- 
bility rested  upon  the  greed,  wickedness  and  disloyalty  of  the  Outland- 
ers.  The  Industrial  Commission  included  a  member  of  the  Executive, 
Mr.  Schalk  Burger,  the  Government  railway  commissioner,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Schmidt,  the  Government  Minister  of  Mines,  Mr.  Christian  Joubert,  the 
state  mining  engineer,  Mr.  Schmitz-Dumont,  and  the  first  special  judi- 
cial commissioner  at  Johannesburg,  Mr.  J.  F.  De  Beer.  A  financial 
adviser  was  appointed  in  the  person  of  the  manager  of  the  National 
Bank,  and  advisory  members  were  in  addition  elected  by  the  Govern- 
ment. This  Commission  was  therefore  appointed  from  the  very  circles 
that  had  detested  and  hated  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg.  Some  of 
them  had  avowedly  avoided  every  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted 
with  those  citizens,  and  confessed  that  they  had  no  trust  in  them.  No 
commission,  therefore,  could  have  proceeded  to  its  work  with  more 
prejudice  and  partiality  than  this  one.  The  commissioners  sat  in 
Johannesburg  for  several  months,  inquiring  into  the  details  of  every 
complaint  which  the  citizens  made.  They  did  this  with  the  utmost 
thoroughness  and  conscientiousness,  and  when  the  work  was  completed 
presented  their  Report,  which  was  afterwards  printed  by  the  Chamber 
of  Mines  in  a  volume  of  more  than  700  pages. 

The  result  of  their  inquiry  was  to  create  an  almost  complete  change 
of  opinion  in  the  minds  of  these  representatives  of  the  Government. 
Their  report,  or  rather  the  change  of  mind  which  it  implied,  is  one  of 
the  most  startling  evidences  of  a  most  extraordinary  situation.  Pre- 
toria, it  must  be  remembered,  is  only  about  thirty  miles  distant  from 
Johannesburg,  and  the  Government  at  Pretoria  had  now  for  ten  years 


516  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

been  ruling  Johannesburg  and  carrying  on  a  continual  controversy  with 
its  citizens.  This  Report  shows  that  the  official  Government  at  Pre- 
toria simply  had  not  known  the  population  with  wrhich  they  were  dealing 
nor  understood  the  problems  which  they  were  discussing.  If,  therefore, 
President  Kruger  is,  as,  alas!  he  must  be,  along  with  his  Government, 
condemned  for  inefficiency  and  injustice,  a  large  part  of  it  must  be  put 
down  to  ignorance  of  the  facts*  of  the  case. 

In  its  conclusions  the  Commission  advised  the  Government,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  closing  down  of  the  mines  which  seemed  inevitable,  to 
co-operate  with  the  mining  industry.  It  urged  that  the  Government 
should  so  "alter  its  fiscal  laws  and  systems  of  administration  as  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  its  principal  industry."  Above  all  the  report 
asserted  as  follows,  "Your  Commission  entirely  disapprove  of  conces- 
sions, through  which  the  industrial  property  of  the  country  is  hampered."' 
They  report  that  the  wages  paid  to  white  men  were  not  excessive 
and  that  therefore  the  necessaries  of  life  should  be  imported  free  of  duty 
and  conveyed  to  the  mines  as  cheaply  as  possible  in  order  that  the  white 
laborers  might  establish  their  homes  in  the  Republic.  It  had  been 
proved,  the  Commission  said,  that  the  "liquor  law  was  not  carried  out 
properly,  and  that  the  mining  industry  had  real  grievances  arising  from 
that  fact."  The  Commission  urged  that  food  stuffs  should  be  imported 
free  of  duty  inasmuch  as  "it  is  impossible  to  supply  the  population  of 
the  Republic  from  the  produce  of  local  agriculture."  As  to  the  dyna- 
mite monopoly  the  decision  of  the  Commission  was  another  great  tri- 
umph for  the  Outlanders.  They  proved  that  on  every  case  imported 
from  40  to  45  shillings  ($10  to  $11)  went  as  clear  profit  to  the  sharehold- 
ers of  the  company.  Even  the  tariffs  of  the  Netherlands  Railway 
Company  were  roundly  and  finally  condemned  as  excessive.  Finally 
they  recommended  what  the  Outlanders  had  long  desired,  a  fairly  rep- 
resentative and  competent  local  board  for  the  care  of  the  city  and 
mining  industry. 

In  a  word,  it  may  be  said  that,  in  this  year  succeeding  the  Jameson 
Raid,  a  Commission  appointed  by  President  Kruger  did  actually  and 
surely  justify  almost  all  the  complaints  which  for  years  the  Outlanders 
had  been  urging  in  vain,  and  for  urging  which  they  had  been  denounced 
by  the  President  as  disloyal  to  the  Republic. 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID.  517 

What  then  did  President  Kruger  do  after  he  had  received  the  report 
of  his  own  Commission?  It  is  of  interest  to  know  that  while  the  Com- 
mission  was  sitting  in  Johannesburg  Dr.  Leyds,  the  most  important 
member  because  most  able  and  acute  of  President  Kruger's  Hollander 
officials,  was  in  Europe,  pushing  the  interests  of  the  Republic  at  various 
capitals.  When  he  heard  of  the  report  of  the  Commission  he  hastened 
to  Pretoria  and  the  result  of  the  pressure  which  he  and  others  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  President  was  that  almost  nothing  resulted  in  the  way 
of  practical  reformation.  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  no  honorable  gov- 
ernment could  possibly  be  prevented  from  doing  something  substantial, 
but  this  Government  was  prevented.  While  the  Outlanders  for  a  time 
hoped,  their  hopes  were  crushed  as  soon  as  the  President  and  the  Volks- 
raad  met  for  practical  consideration  of  the  matters  in  hand.  As  a  result, 
the  world  would  hardly  believe  it,  but  as  a  result  practically  nothing 
was  done.  The  President  called  Mr.  Schalk  Burger  a  traitor  for  signing 
such  a  treaty,  and  set  himself  with  great  determination  to  prevent  any 
attempt  at  serious  or  thoroughgoing  amelioration  of  the  scandals,  which 
his  own  Commission  had  exposed  to  public  view. 

PRESIDENT  KRUGER'S  LAST  STAND. 

These  events  constituted  the  second  last  of  the  various  opportuni- 
ties which  have  been  afforded  President  Kruger  to  become  a  reforming 
ruler  in  his  beloved  land.  From  that  year,  1897,  to  1899,  matters  went 
from  worse  to  worse. 

The  Outlanders  found  themselves  still  hampered  in  their  com- 
merce and  industries,  low-grade  mines  were  incapable  of  being  worked 
owing  to  the  heavy  burdens  imposed  by  indirect  taxation  in  innumer- 
able directions.  High-grade  mines  paid,  and  some  of  them,  of  course, 
paid  handsomely.  The  amount  of  gold  taken  out  of  the  mines  increased 
year  by  year  until  enormous  figures  were  reached.  It  was  calculated 
that  this  year  (1900)  the  output  of  gold  from  these  mines  would  have 
placed  the  Transvaal  in  the  third  place  among  the  gold  producing  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  Nevertheless  the  wrongs  of  the  citizens,  were  not 
removed. 

It  was  in  the  spring  of  1899  that  the  Outlanders  once  more  took  pub- 
lic and  powerful  action  in  relation  to  their  wrongs  by  encouraging  the 


518  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

British  citizens  to  draw  up  a  petition  to  the  Queen,  imploring  her  inter- 
vention on  their  behalf.  It  was  sought  to  prevent  the  signing  of  this 
petition  in  any  careless  or  fraudulent  way  that  should  afterwards  dis- 
credit it,  with  the  result  that,  while  it  has  been  impeaohed,  every  im- 
peachment has  been  met  on  oath  by  credible  witnesses  who  have  sup- 
ported the  genuineness  of  practically  all  the  signatures.  President 
Kruger  immediately  saw  the  very  great  importance  of  this  petition  and 
caused  another  to  be  drawn  up  and  presented  to  him  by  another  section 
of  Outlanders,  protesting  against  the  petition  to  the  Queen.  But  the 
latter  the  British  Government  could  not  ignore.  The  result  of  the 
negotiations  which  passed  was  the  conference*  at  Bloemfontein  between 
President  Kruger  and  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  in  June,  1899. 

President  Kruger  was  evidently  surprised  by  the  attitude  which  Sir 
Alfred  Milner  assumed.  Its  very  moderation  perplexed  him.  It  is  true 
that  the  President  firmly  and  consistently  held  that  the  proposals  of 
Sir  Alfred  Milner  regarding  the  franchise  could  not  be  adopted  by  his 
Government;  but  he  was  evidently  puzzled  by  the  fact  that  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  utterly  declined  to  discuss  the  particular  grievances  complained 
of  by  the  Outlanders,  with  a  view  to  their  rectification.  The  Governor 
asserted  that  only  one  matter  could  be  discussed  as  a  practical  problem 
between  the  two  governments.  This  was  the  question  of  the  franchise. 
The  President  acted  on  his  life-long  passion  for  bargain-making  by 
attempting  to  name  certain  matters  outside  those  at  present  in  dispute, 
on  which  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  British  Government  could  make 
concessions  to  him  in  return  for  concessions  in  the  direction  proposed 
by  Sir  Alfred  Milner.  If  he  could  return  to  Pretoria  and  point  to  some 
definite  gains  which  he  had  made  for  the  country,  either  in  territory  or 
otherwise,  that  would  give  him  great  power  over  his  burghers  in  pro- 
posing modifications  of  the  franchise  law.  To  all  such  proposals  the 
Governor  brought  his  frank  and  final  answer  that  the  question  of 
justice  to  British  citizens  was  not  a  matter  which  the  British  Govern- 
ment could  deal  with  in  a  bargaining  spirit,  nor  was  it  his  opinion  that 
President  Kruger  ought  to  make  the  rendering  of  justice  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  his  own  country  a  subject  for  commercial  dealing  with  another 
Government.  President  Kruger  objected  to  the  proposal  of  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  that  he  should  grant  naturalization  and  the  franchise  at  the 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND    THE  RAID.  519 

same  time,  as  is  done  in  all  other  countries,  and  that  this  should  take 
place  at  the  end  of  five  years'  residence  on  the  ground  "that  it  would 
be  virtually  to  give  up  the  independence  of  my  burghers."  "In  the  Re- 
public," he  explained,  "the  majority  of  enfranchised  burghers  consider 
they  are  the  masters.  Our  enfranchised  burghers  are  probably  about 
30,000,  and  the  newcomers  may  be  from  60,000  to  70,000,  and  if  we  give 
them  the  franchise  to-morrow,  we  may  as  well  give  up  the  Republic. 
I  hope  you  will  see  clearly  that  I  shall  not  get  it  through  with  my 
people."  To  this  the  answer  of  Sir  Alfred  Milner  was  an  exceedingly 
moderate  and  fair  one,  namely,  that  he  did  not  ask  for  a  law  which 
should  at  once  result  in  swamping  the  Dutch  burghers  with  foreign 
voters.  This  proposal  would  be  repugnant  to  the  mind  even  of  the 
British  Government.  Ultimately  he  proposed  to  the  President  that  for 
the  new  citizens  a  limited  number  of  constituencies  should  be  granted, 
so  that  they  might  have,  say,  four  seats  out  of  twenty-eight  in  the  First 
Raad.  His  purpose  was  not  that  the  foreigners  should  at  once  usurp 
the  Government,  which  would  manifestly  be  a  hard  thing  to  demand, 
but,  as  he  said,  that  they  should  be  able  to  discuss  the  interests  of  their 
constituents  inside  the  Volksraad.  "It  is  obvious,"  Sir  Alfred  Milner 
said,  "that  you  could  not  let  in  the  whole  crowd,  without  character  or 
anything — I  do  not  ask  it — but  you  want  such  a  substantial  measure 
that  in  elections  of  members  of  the  Volksraad  the  decision  of  the  new 
industrial  population  should  have  reasonable  consideration.  They  have 
not  got  it  now,  and  when  the  questions  that  interest  them  come  before 
the  Volksraad  it  is  too  evident  that  they  are  discussed  from  an  outside 
point  of  view.  The  industrial  population  are  regarded  as  strangers.  I 
have  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  laws  that  are  made  appear  best  to 
the  people  that  make  them,  but  it  is  the  universal  opinion  of  free  and 
progressive  nations  that  laws  are  best  made  by  people  who  have  to  obey 
them,  and  not  by  people  outside.  It  would  make  all  the  difference  in 
the  world  if,  when  laws  are  discussed  affecting  the  new  population,  some 
representatives  of  the  new  population  should  be  present  to  explain  the 
views  and  wishes  of  that  population  from  the  inside,  not  from  the 
outside." 

After  several  prolonged  conferences,  during  which  President  Kruger 
plaintively,  and,  it  is  said,  even  with  tears,  urged  that  he  could  not 


520  PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

modify  the  franchise  law,  he  actually  produced  a  proposed  law  drawn 
out  in  such  fullness  of  detail  and  with  such  care  that  it  is  impossible 
not  to  believe  that  he  and  his  associates  had  it  in  their  pockets  all  the 
time.  In  this  law  the  franchise  was  to  be  granted  at  the  end  of  seven 
years,  but  naturalization  with  the  oath,  as  before,  at  the  end  of  two 
years.  No  definite  provisions  were  made  for  new  constituencies  and  the 
operation  of  the  law  was  surrounded  with  so  many  perplexing  and 
minute  conditions  as  to  make  it  practically  certain  that  very  few  Out- 
landers  would  ever  be  able  to  fulfill  them;  while  even  after  fulfilling 
the  conditions,  they  would  be  still  in  the  precarious  position  of  depend- 
ing upon  the  decision  of  the  supreme  government  as  to  whether  they 
should  receive  the  franchise  or  not.  The  main  objects  urged  against  this 
scheme  by  Sir  Alfred  Milner  were  that  it  would  not  become  immediately 
operative  and  that  its  conditions  made  the  effect  of  its  operation  entirely 
uncertain.  Besides,  it  would  not  create  the  opportunity  for  the  presence 
of  representatives  of  the  Outlanders  in  the  First  Raad,  which  is  the  only 
house  having  real  effective  control  even  over  the  mining  interests  of 
the  country.  He  accordingly  could  not  encourage  the  idea  that  the 
British  Government  would  consider  this  law  as  sufficient.  His  own 
proposal  he  had  put  forward  in  no  bargaining  spirit,  simply  as  affording 
a  reasonable  opportunity  for  securing  an  exceedingly  small  but  reaji 
representation  in  the  First  Eaad.  His  proposals  must  therefore  be 
considered  as  an  irreducible  minimum.  Less  than  that  which  he  pro- 
posed would  do  absolutely  nothing  to  relieve  the  acute  situation  in  the 
Transvaal  itself. 

In  reading  the  discussions  at  Bloemfontein  it  is  difficult  to  decide 
whether  one  must  admire  most  the  shrewd  persistence  with  which  Pres- 
ident Kruger  strove  to  make  a  bargain  over  any  degree  of  acquiescence 
which  might  be  wrung  frym  him,  or  the  clear-headed  firmness  with 
which  Sir  Alfred  Milner  seized  and  held  fast  the  simple  proposition 
which  he  refused  to  modify  by  subtraction  or  addition,  and  which  very 
few  thoughtful  people  anywhere  will  describe  as  anything  but  fair  and 
reasonable. 

When  the  conference  broke  up  with  mutual  expressions  of  personal 
regard,  and  regret  at  the  failure  of  their  discussions,  President  Kruger 
returned  immediately  to  Pretoria  for  the  purpose  of  there  introducing 


PRESIDENT  KRUGER  AND   THE  RAID. 

to  the  Volksraad  and  pressing  rapidly  into  statute  law  the  very  scheme 
which  Sir  Alfred  Milner  had  so  elaborately  discussed  and  pronounced 
to  be  unsatisfactory.  With  that  incident  the  personal  history  of  Presi- 
dent Kruger  so  far  as  public  records  have  made  it  known  comes  to  a 
termination.  All  further  negotiations  were  carried  through  by  means 
of  the  diplomatic  officials  under  him.  The  last  that  we  see  of  him  is  as 
he  stands  in  the  Volksraad  in  July,  1899,  urging  upon  his  obedient 
burghers  the  necessity  of  passing  this  new  franchise  law  in  spite  of 
protests  not  only  of  the  Governor  in  Cape  Town,  but  even  of  his  own 
Dutch  sympathizers  in  the  Colony  and  the  Free  State.  Sturdily  he 
stands  to  the  last,  speaking  in  his  rapid  and  often  incoherent  way, 
bursting  at  times  into  terrific  passionate  exclamations,  compelling  the 
burghers  who  have  feared  and  trusted  him  for  so  many  years  once  more 
to  take  a  step  whose  meaning  they  could  not  understand,  to  pass  a  law 
whose  details  not  the  clearest  head  in  the  Transvaal  could  thoroughly 
interpret  and  whose  working  no  man  living  could  forecast.  Sturdily  he 
stands  creating  confusion  even  in  the  laws  of  his  country  that  he  may 
•create  confusion  in  the  minds  of  his  enemies,enforcing  his  will  even  upon 
the  burghers  under  the  conviction  that  in  this  way  only  can  he  at  the 
same  time  appease  the  insistent  rage  of  Great  Britain  and  retain  the 
mastery  of  the  country  in  the  hands  of  his  own  people. 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  conclude  this  sketch  of 
President  Kruger  by  quoting  the  words  which  he  uttered  to  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  on  the  morning  of  June  1,  1899,  when  he  said,  "You  can  follow 
our  history  from  the  time  we  left  the  Cape  Colony;  we  have  never  been 
the  attacking  party,  but  always  the  defending,  and  even  against  the 
weakest  barbarians  we  never  were  the  first  to  attack  unless  they  had 
committed  offences,  such  as  murder  and  other  things.  We  follow  what 
God  says:  'Accursed  be  he  that  removeth  his  neighbor's  landmark' 
(beacon);  and  as  long  as  your  Excellency  lives  you  will  see  that  we  shall 
never  be  the  attacking  party  on  another  man's  land." 


BOOK  IV. 

THE   BRITISH   BOER  WAR,  1899-1900. 


PART  I. 

THE  CAUSES  OF  THE  WAR. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE    TRANSVAAL    AND    SOUTH    BECHUANALAND. 

AS  WE  have  seen  elsewhere,  the  Sand  River  Convention  of  1852, 
which  granted  independent  self-government  to  the  Transvaal 
Boers,  did  not  name  any  boundaries  of  the  territory  which  was  to 
be  considered  theirs.  Moreover,  the  British  at  that  time  imagined  that 
they  could,  and  consequently  decided  to,  confine  their  possessions  and 
responsibilities  in  South  Africa  south  of  the  Orange  River.  Accordingly 
they  pledged  themselves  to  form  no  treaties  or  alliances  with  native 
tribes  north  of  the  Vaal  River.  We  have  seen  already  how  impossible  it 
was  to  avoid  complications  writh  the  Basutos  and  with  the  Griquas.  Nev- 
ertheless Great  Britain  did  on  the  whole  keep  that  part  of  her  convention 
with  the  Boers  very  faithfully  indeed,  and  practically  no  dealings  had 
she  with  native  tribes  beyond  her  northern  borders  until  after  the 
annexation  of  the  Transvaal  in  1877.  That  event  brought  her  into 
immediate  contact  with  those  tribes  on  the  east  and  northeast  which 
had  menaced  the  Boers  so  seriously,  as  we  have  seen.  It  was  also  with- 
out her  wish  and  entirely  contrary  to  her  cherished  policy  that  Great 
Britain  became  involved  also  by  this  event  in  relations  with  the  tribes 
of  South  Bechuanaland — relations  wrhich  reflected  credit  upon  her 
policy  of  faithfulness  to  her  convention  with  the  Boers,  and  deep  dis- 
credit for  unfaithfulness  to  the  natives  as  we  shall  see. 

In  the  year  1877  she  was  involved  in  the  far  east  with  difficulties 
among  both  the  Zulus  and  the  Kaffirs.  NewTs  of  these  difficulties  spread 
with  great  rapidity  and  in  exaggerated  form  westward.  Some  local 
irritations  among  the  natives  of  Griqualand  and  the  borders  of  Cape 
Colony  served  as  a  hot-bed  into  which  the  suggestions  brought  from 
the  east  fell  like  seed  of  a  noxious  plant.  The  tale-bearers  told  the 
chiefs  whom  they  could  reach  in  Bechuanaland  that  the  white  people 
were  about  to  be  driven  out  of  the  country;  that  if  they  arose  and  fought 
vigorously  they  could  stem  the  hitherto  irresistible  tide  of  invasioij. 
These  suggestions  and  evil  temptations  found  too  ready  acquiescence 

525 


526    THE  TRANSVAAL  AND  SOUTH  BECHU  AN  ALAND. 

among  some  of  the  lesser  chiefs  and  some  of  the  more  ambitious  spirits; 
but  there  were  others  who,  not  in  vain,  had  lived  close  to  Christian  mis- 
sionaries for  forty  years,  and  they  hesitated,  or  straightforwardly  con- 
sulted the  missionaries  of  their  district.  The  advice  which  they  re- 
ceived was,  of  course,  the  wisest  advice — to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
fighting  or  bloodshed,  still  less  with  any  attempt  to  resist  the  coming 
of  whites  into  the  country. 

In  spite  of  pacific  influences,  however,  the  bitterness  increased. 
There  were  many  whites  of  a  lawless  type  in  that  country  now,  and 
many  complications  had  arisen  in  the  mutual  relations  of  native  chiefs; 
indeed,  the  quarrelings  among  the  chiefs  as  to  supremacy  in  this  district 
and  in  that,  had  been  fomented  by  interested  white  people,  whether 
Boer  farmers  or  English  traders.  In  fact  the  country  was  rapidly  de- 
scending into  anarchy.  Ancient  tribal  traditions,  customs  and  laws, 
which  hitherto  had  preserved  civil  order,  were  rapidly  losing  their 
power,  and  no  central  authority  had  arisen  on  whom  the  various  sec- 
tions of  this  troubled  race  could  rest.  Matters  were  brought  to  a  head 
when  in  the  spring  of  1878  an  English  farmer  and  his  family,  by  the 
name  of  Burness,  not  far  from  the  border  of  Cape  Colony,  were  cruelly 
murdered.  This  created  great  excitement  far  and  wide,  and  instant 
demands  were  made  upon  the  chief  of  the  district  for  the  capture  and 
punishment  of  the  murderers.  These  demands  served  still  further  to 
rouse  many  of  the  secretly  disaffected  natives,  and  bodies  of  their  war- 
riors began  to  move  in  this  direction.  News  reached  Kimberley  and 
Cape  Town  that  the  famous  missionary  station  at  Kuruman,  where  sev- 
eral missionary  families  and  a  number  of  traders  lived,  was  in  danger 
of  immediate  attack,  and  it  was  at  once  determined  that  these  people 
must  be  delivered  from  their  danger.  The  High  Commissioner  tele- 
graphed from  Cape  Town  to  Kimberley  that  help  must  be  immediately 
sent. 

In  the  meantime  at  Kuruman  all  the  white  people  had  taken  refuge 
in  the  strongly  built  and  capacious  premises  of  the  Moffat  Institution, 
whose  head  was  the  Kev.  John  Mackenzie.  A  small  party  of  volunteers 
left  Kimberley  for  the  relief  of  the  station,  but  they  were  unexpectedly 
attacked  and  defeated  by  a  regiment  of  natives.  The  news  of  this  native 
victory,  hugely  exaggerated,  still  further  aroused  the  confidence  of  the 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AND   SOUTH  BECHUANALAND.  527 

people.  It  served,  however,  to  arouse  also  the  English  military  authori- 
ties, and  Col.  Lanyon,  afterwards  Sir  Owen  Lanyon,  Administrator  of 
the  Transvaal,  and  Col.  Warren,  R.  E.,  now  Lieut.  General  Sir  Charles 
Warren,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  proceeded  from  Griqualand  to  the  succor  of  the 
European  families.  No  real  attack  was  made  upon  Kuruman  by  the 
natives,  and  no  battle  took  place  there.  Col.  Warren,  an  adept  in  South 
African  methods  both  of  warfare  and  native  administration,  soon  dis- 
persed the  bands  of  Bechuana  warriors  and  set  to  work  on  the  pacifica- 
tion of  the  country. 

Strange  to  relate,  the  advent  of  British  administration  was  wel- 
comed with  real  gratitude  and  enthusiasm  by  these  poor  natives  of 
Bechuanaland.  To  them  the  name  of  the  Queen  had  for  many  years 
been  a  name  of  hope  and  confidence.  They  had  repeatedly  expressed 
their  longings  to  come  under  the  government  of  the  great  and  good 
Queen,  "the  white  Queen,"  whose  officials  were  famed  for  their  justice 
and  kindly  dealings  with  native  dependants.  More  than  one  chief  had 
petitioned  repeatedly  to  be  taken  under  the  British  Crown.  It  is  in- 
deed recorded  that  one  man  at  this  very  period  actually  offered  to 
replace  the  cattle  stolen  by  his  brother  from  some  Griquas,  saying,  "If 
we  are  to  be  regarded  as  people  and  as  subjects  of  the  Queen,  I  for  my 
part  wish  to  enter  with  a  white  heart."  Sir  Charles  Warren  personally 
won  their  admiration  and  love,  and  as  long  as  he,  with  strangely  mingled 
severity  and  kindness,  justice  and  gentleness,  strove  to  bring  a  new 
order  out  of  their  terrible  anarchy,  they  were  full  of  the  happiest 
expectations.  High  authorities  gave  every  reason  to  believe  that  Eng- 
land would  never  again  leave  this  region  to  the  terrible  dangers  in 
which  it  had  recently  been  involved.  The  High  Commissioner  fully 
approved  of  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  military  forces  till 
definite  arrangements  could  be  made  for  its  civil  government.  This 
territory  was  a  wide  and  rich  one,  extending  from  the  Orange  River 
north  to  the  Molopo,  from  the  Langberg  Hills,  west  of  Kuruman,  to 
Lichtenburg  on  the  east,  a  place  which  is  now  far  writhin  the  limits  of 
the  Transvaal,  but  which  at  that  time  was  beyond  its  government. 

The  first  sign  of  weakness  and  danger  came  when,  in  April,  1879,  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  England  sent  out  from  London  a  weak  and  hesi- 
tating message  regarding  the  future  of  the  region.  His  Government 


528          THE  TRANSVAAL  AND  SOUTH  BECHUANALAND. 

shrunk,  evidently,  from  what  they  called  the  "assumption  of  such  in- 
creased responsibilities,"  and  yet  hesitated  to  give  the  scheme  entirely 
up  in  case  something  should  yet  come  out  of  that  premature  dream  of 
a  South  African  Confederation  which  had  already  worked  such  mischief 
in  South  African  history. 

Warren  left  in  ill-health  in  October,  1879,  and  immediately  difficul- 
ties began.  The  Cape  authorities,  into  whose  hands  the  responsibilities 
fell,  lacked  either  the  power  or  the  heart  to  carry  out  the  broad-minded 
and  generous  scheme  of  government  which  already  was  being  put  into 
operation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  neither  desired  nor  were  fitted  to 
do  it.  The  police,  who  had  been  so  helpful  in  the  province  of  Bechu- 
analand  were  gradually  withdrawn,  and  as  they  were  withdrawn  the 
usual  bands  of  lawless  Boers  and  English  began  to  stream  in  upon  the 
most  promising  farm  lands  of  the  unfortunate  and  defenseless  natives. 
The  latter  could  not  now  fight  because  they  were  under  the  British 
Government!  And  the  British  Government  did  not  guard  their  inter- 
ests because  it  was  not  sure  whether  it  wanted  increased  responsibili- 
ties! Mr.  Mackenzie  tells  us  that  on  one  journey  in  that  year  he  met 
40  or  50  white  men  armed  and  mounted  invading  the  country  with  their 
wagons,  carrying  plows,  spades  and  other  instruments.  On  his  report- 
ing what  he  had  seen,  police  were  sent  who  brought  these  men  back. 
It  was  found  that  they  were  an  organized  band  of  men  under  a  specu- 
lative land-agent  who  had  arranged  to  go  out  and  seize  farms  wherever 
they  found  them,  begin  to  till  the  soil,  and  employ  this  agent  whenso- 
ever a  land  court  should  be  appointed  to  hear  and  adjudicate  upon 
claims  in  that  part  of  the  country.  One  of  these  men  escaped  the 
clutches  of  the  police,  "and  was  found  by  them,  after  complaint  had 
been  lodged  by  a  native  farmer,  plowing  at  one  end  of  this  native  man's 
field,  while  the  native  was  plowing  at  the  other." 

It  was  not  until  April  of  1881  that  all  of  the  police  were  finally  re- 
moved from  Bechuanaland-.  This  country  had  thus  been  for  three  years 
under  British  occupation,  peace  had  been  brought  to  it  by  British  offi- 
cials, law  and  order  were  being  established,  the  native  chiefs  were 
grateful  to  be  the  Queen's  subjects,  and  there  was  every  prospect  of  an 
orderly  and  honorable  development  of  the  territory  if  only  the  Home 
Government  had  not  been  guilty  once  more  of  the  crime  of  retrocession. 


I 


ce 


cr 
w 

K 

E 

H 

£ 
o 

or 

S 


c 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AND   SOUTH  BECHUANALAND.  529 

This  act,  which  in  some  instances  may  have  been  prompted  by  honor- 
able enough  motives,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Transvaal  in  1881, 'has  been 
repeated  over  and  over  again  by  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  where 
the  motives  were  not  honorable.  Retrocession  in  South  Africa  has 
usually  represented,  not  a  sense  of  honor  towards  peoples  for  whom 
independence  was  a  better  condition  than  subjection  to  British  rule, 
but  pusillanimity  in  the  face  of  responsibilities.  These  needed  only  to 
be  faced  bravely  in  order  to  be  carried  easily,  but  when  shirked  in 
this  manner  they  have  brought  a  terrific  retribution  with  unfailing 
regularity. 

In  the  year  1881,  when  the  Transvaal  received  again  its  independ- 
ence, a  considerable  portion  of  this  Bechuanaland  territory,  which  for 
administrative  reasons  had  been  placed  under  the  British  administrator 
at  Pretoria,  was  not  separated  again  from  the  Transvaal.  It  consti- 
tuted one  of  those  free  gifts  which  the  British  bestowed  upon  the  Boer 
Government  at  that  time.  As  soon  as  the  Boer  Government  had  begun 
its  work  after  that  date,  and  it  was  apparent  that  the  British  authorities 
had  been  withdrawn  again  from  Bechuanaland,  difficulties  among  the 
natives  once  more  increased.  This  time  the  main  charge  brought 
against  them  was  that  of  cattle  lifting  and  quarrelsomeness.  Two 
chiefs  (Moshette  and  Massouw),  who  were  included  within  the  Trans- 
vaal territory,  found  that  part  of  their  little  dominion  was  on  one  side 
of  the  border,  and  part  on  the  other.  These  chiefs  were  indignant  when 
they  found  themselves  subject  to  the  Transvaal  Boers,  and  in  one  in- 
stance proceeded  actually  to  remove  the  beacons  put  up  as  boundary 
marks.  The  Boers  interpreted  this  to  mean  that  they  did  not  wish  a 
part,  but  the  whole  of  their  territory  to  be  placed  within  the  Transvaal ! 
In  the  rivalries  between  native  chiefs  those  who  were  within  the  Trans- 
vaal territory  were  induced  to  accept  the  aid  of  Boer  volunteers  in  at- 
tacks upon  their  rivals  beyond  the  border.  This  was  interpreted  to 
mean  that  the  Boers  protected  them  and  stood  in  the  position  of  super- 
iors. 

Of  course  these  raids  of  the  Boers,  even  when  acting  as  volunteers 
under  native  chiefs,  were  not  unknown  to  the  higher  authorities  at  Pre- 
toria. Indeed  several  of  them  were  members  of  the  Volksraad.  These 
were  compelled,  after  the  matter  was  officially  brought  under  the  notice 


o30     THE  TRANSVAAL  AND  SOUTH  BECHU  AN  ALAND. 

of  the  Transvaal  government  to  resign  their  places,  but  no  further 
punishment  was  imposed.  Not  in  name  but  in  reality  all  the  raidings 
which  took  place  on  the  southwest  border  during  that  and  the  following 
three  or  four  years  were  carried  on  under  the  full  cognizance,  although 
without  the  formal  approval  of  the  Transvaal  government.  The  dif- 
ficulty of  the  situation  for  the  independent  chiefs  was  increased  by  the 
fact  of  their  readiness  to  obey  the  English  High  Commissioner  who 
warned  them  against  making  war  and  whose  authority  prevented  white 
men  from  enlisting  as  volunteers  in  their  support.  Two  chiefs,  namely, 
Montsioa  of  Mafeking,  and  Mankoroane  of  Taungs,  had,  during  the  war 
of  independence  of  the  Transvaal,  proved  themselves  very  loyal,  even 
against  strong  temptation,  to  the  British  government;  and  when  this 
fact  was  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  High  Commissioner  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  London  their  consciences  began  to  move  in  the  matter. 

But  that  which  finally  awoke  righteous  indignation  was  the  treach- 
erous conduct  of  certain  of  these  Boer  intriguers  and  marauders  to- 
wards the  first  of  these  two  chiefs.  They  persuaded  Montsioa  and  his 
rival  within  the  Transvaal  border  to  sign  a  treaty  of  peace  which  had 
been  drawn  up  by  the  Transvaal  volunteers.  After  this  had  been 
signed  another  was  proposed  to  Montsioa  in  which  he  was  made  to  say 
that  he  absolutely  declined  the  British  government  and  desired  to  come 
under  the  government  of  the  South  African  Republic.  Although  fully 
threatened  with  immediate  war  if  he  refused,  he  did  refuse  utterly  to 
sign  this  most  unrighteous  document.  Seeing  him  so  stubborn  one  of 
the  Transvaal  volunteers  affixed  the  cross  to  Montsioa's  name,  and 
thereafter  this  document  was  given  out  as  a  treaty  by  which  this  native 
chief  gave  himself  up  to  the  South  African  Republic. 

Thoroughly  consistent  with  these  proceedings  and  their  traditional 
methods  was  the  attempted  formation  of  two  Boer  "republics"  outside 
the  Transvaal  border,  and  within  Bechuanaland,  one  of  which  was 
named  Stella-land  and  the  other  Goshen.  The  story  of  these  little  "re- 
publics" and  of  the  trouble  which  they  gave  must  be  told  later. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE    LONDON    CONVENTION,  1884. 

WE  MUST  now  transfer  ourselves  to  the  atmosphere  of  England. 
The  years  during  which  the  disturbances  above  described  were 
taking  place  in  South  Africa  were  the  years  when  what  has 
been  called  "Little  Englandism"  held  powerful  sway  over  the  colonial 
policy  of  the  government.  Some  of  those  whose  names  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  this  movement,  such  as  Mr.  John  Morley,  were  never  guilty 
of  the  extreme  positions  which  were  assumed  and  defended  by  others. 
The  more  moderate  men  held  the  opinion  that  Great  Britain  had  already 
undertaken  in  various  parts  of  the  world  responsibilities  large  enough  for 
her  energy  and  her  resources.  They  advocated  therefore  a  policy  which 
may  be  characterized  as  the  avoidance  of  further  expansion.  But  they 
were  brought  into  public  action  alongside  of  men  who  went  further;  men 
who,  in  the  madness  of  the  moment,  as  it  now  seems,  and  reasoning  from 
the  mere  abstract  conception  that  every  country  ought  to  rule  itself 
(which  is  true  if  it  is  fit  to  do  so),  concluded  that  Great  Britain  ought 
to  resign  her  dependencies  and  confine  her  energies  entirely  to  home 
politics  and  the  development  of  domestic  prosperity.  These  extremists 
brought  their  wTiser  friends  into  the  same  reproach  which  their  own 
policy  deserved  and  wrhich  was  at  once  described  and  stigmatized  as 
"Little  Englandism."  John  Bright,  the  great  Tribune  of  the  people, 
the  man  of  peace  and  a  democrat  of  democrats,  found  it  necessary,  in 
one  of  his  last  greatest  speeches  from  the  public  platform,  to  disclaim  all 
sympathy  with  the  notion  that  England  had  no  right  or  responsibility 
in  India.  Speaking  in  tones  made  solemn  with  religious  fervor  and 
deep  conviction  he  urged  that  England  would  involve  herself  in  a  most 
dreadful  responsibility  if  she  left  India  to  find  her  own  way  henceforth 
unaided,  unguided  and  uncontrolled. 

The  "Little  Englanders"  succeeded  in  doing  damage  in  only  one 
direction,  namely,  in  South  Africa;  but  there  the  damage  they  did  was 
very  great  and  its  bitter  results  are  being  experienced  now.  It  was 

531 


532  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884. 

very  largely  their  influence  which  helped  to  make  men  silent  who 
would  otherwise  have  spoken  out  on  South  African  problems;  it  was 
their  influence  which,  without  instructing,  quieted  the  public  con- 
science, dulled  the  public  interest  in  South  African  affairs.  It  was  not 
that  they  succeeded  in  persuading  England  as  a  whole  to  give  up  South 
Africa,  but  that  they  restrained  her  hand  when  she  was,  in  the  name  of 
duty,  about  to  stretch  it  out  for  the  protection  of  dependent  races.  This 
restraint  was  enforced  in  the  name  of  liberty  for  those  people,  in  the  name 
of  economy  in  the  use  of  public  moneys,  and  in  the  name  of  everything 
else  that  is  good  and  which  was  only  the  more  certain  to  be  destroyed 
by  the  very  policy  suggested. 

In  South  Africa  it  was  the  sight  of  England  once  more  avowing 
responsibility  to-day  and  retreating  from  it  to-morrow,  which  produced 
the  greatest  bitterness.  The  colonists  were  once  more  aghast  at  being 
forsaken  when  they  had,  as  they  supposed,  received  promises  and 
pledges  of  a  clear  and  a  noble  policy.  As  at  the  time  when  the  Orange 
Free  State  was  given  up,  at  the  time  when  the  independence  of  the 
Transvaal  wras  a  second  time  declared,  so  now,  when  Bechuanaland, 
after  three  years  of  British  rule,  was  abandoned  to  the  misrule  of  dis- 
organized native  tribes  and  to  the  depredations  of  organized  Boer  and 
English  "filibusters,"  many  colonists  even  of  English  blood  and,  of 
course,  still  more  of  Dutch  blood,  who  had  believed  in  and  loved  and 
hoped  for  the  British  control  of  those  regions,  at  sight  of  her  base  deser- 
tion of  unquestionable  responsibilities,  turned  round  in  bitterness  of 
soul  and  avowed  themselves  henceforth  the  enemies  of  "the  Imperial 
factor"  in  South  Africa. 

Lest  the  story  of  the  following  paragraphs  should  be  misunderstood 
there  must  be  introduced  by  a  quotation  from  the  writings  of  one  man 
who  at  that  period  had  done  as  much  as  any  other  for  South  Africa, 
and  who  may  yet  do  more  than  even  he  has  done  for  that  region.  This 
is  Lieutenant-General  Sir  Charles  Warren,  who,  in  an  article  in  the  Con- 
temporary Review  for  November,  1899,  and  when  speaking  of  the  very 
period  under  discussion,  used  the  following  words: 

"Fortunately  there  was  one  in  South  Africa  who  had  sufficient 
ability,  personal  weight,  and  knowledge  of  the  subject  to  bring  before 
the  public,  both  in  South  Africa  and  Great  Britain,  the  true  position 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884.  533 

into  which  the  British  government  had  drifted,  and  the  deplorable  posi- 
tion into  which  the  British  colonies  had  been  forced,  and  who  was 
untiring  in  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  the  Empire. 

"It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Empire  is  indebted  to  John 
Mackenzie,  the  Kuruman  missionary,  the  successor  of  Moffat  and  Liv- 
ingstone, for  stemming  single-handedly  the  tide  of  the  'giving  up  policy' 
and  bringing  round  public  opinion  to  a  sense  of  the  duty  of  the  Empire 
as  the  paramount  power. 

"The  history  of  these  times  and  the  account  of  the  action  taken  by 
John  Mackenzie  have  yet  to  be  written;  in  Britain's  days  of  difficulty 
men  have  always  risen  fitted  for  the  occasion,  and  on  no  more  mo- 
mentous occasion  was  a  true  son  of  Britain  required  than  in  the  dark 
days  of  South  Africa,  the  years  1881  to  1884.  He  was  not  merely  a 
missionary-  speaking  for  the  South  African  natives — as  such  he  would 
have  had  less  effect  on  public  opinion;  but  he  took  a  high  aim  as  a 
true  Imperialist,  and  asked  for  fair  play  for  all,  British,  Dutch  and 
natives. 

"It  was  no  local  cry  of  'Africa  for  the  Afrikanders,'  nor  was  it  a 
narrow-minded  proposition  to  tread  down  the  Dutch  under  the  British, 
but  he  took  the  broad  view  that  all  who  were  fitted  for  the  position  were 
fellow  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  and  he  lectured  on  the  matter  in  the 
Cape  Colony  to  the  Dutch  and  English,  Boers  and  British  Afrikanders, 
and  won  the  hearing  and  suffrages  of  many." 

When  Mr.  Mackenzie  reached  England,  in  the  summer  of  1882,  he 
immediately  set  himself  to  the  task  of  swinging  round  the  opinion  of 
the  country  on  this,  to  him  and  to  South  Africa,  all-important  question. 
He  had  by  no  means  an  easy  task.  Almost  everyone  of  importance  to 
whom  he  went  spoke  in  utter  discouragement.  Said  one  to  him, 
"Mackenzie,  if  you  say  a  good  word  for  South  Africa  you  will  get  in- 
sulted. They  won't  hear  a  word  on  its  behalf  in  England — they  are  so 
disgusted  with  the  mess  that  has  been  made."  Another,  a  very  influen- 
tial journalist,  said:  "I  assure  you  we  are  not  going  to  try  it  again 
after  the  one  fashion  or  the  other;  neither  after  what  you  would  pro- 
pose, nor  what  any  other  would  propose.  We  are  out  of  it  and  we  mean 
to  remain  so."  He  was  told  by  yet  one  more,  a  leading  politician  and 
one  who  was  supposed  to  know  South  African  affairs  intimately,  "that 


531  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884. 

the  public  could  not  be  got  to  sanction  any  scheme  of  government  in 
South  Africa  which  would  demand  an  increase  of  responsibility  and  an 
extension  of  territory."  He  affirmed  that  no  one  could  gain  the  hearing 
of  the  public  with  such  proposals  to  make.  The  missionary  statesman 
was,  howrever,  a  stern  and  persistent  son  of  Scotland,  and  nothing- 
daunted  he  gradually  gathered  together  and  helped  to  organize  a  num- 
ber of  leading  men  in  London,  who  for  nearly  ten  years  worked  with  the 
utmost  sympathy  and  intimacy  with  him.  To  them  and  to  their  work 
are  largely  due  some  of  the  most  important  developments  which  have 
taken  place  in  South  African  history  of  recent  years.  Amongst  these 
must  be  named  the  late  Mr.  W.  E.  Forster  and  his  son,  Mr.  Arnold-Fors- 
ter,  Sir  T.  F.  Buxton,  Sir  R.  N.  Fowler,  the  late  Earl  Grey,  Mr.  F.  W. 
Chesson  and  Mr.  Arthur  H.  Loring.  Mr  W.  T.  Stead  lent  prompt  aid  to 
the  cause  in  his  evening  paper,  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  Public  meetings 
were  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country  from  London  to  Edinburgh,  and 
speeches  were  made  by  men  who  were  intimate  with  the  facts  and  enthu- 
siastic in  favor  of  a  forward  movement.  The  result  was  that  within  a  few 
months  a  very  great  amount  of  information  was  put  before  the  public 
and  the  subject  was  much  discussed  in  newspapers;  as  a  consequence, 
numerous  converts  to  the  new  ideas  were  made  even  among  officials  of 
high  and  of  long  standing.  A  great  change  was  wrought  in  the  British 
conception  of  the  relation  of  Great  Britain  as  the  paramount  power  to 
the  natives  of  South  Africa. 

By  a  strange  and  wonderful  Providence  which  had  allowed  this  mis- 
sionary to  have  his  furlough  in  this  year  1882  it  was  in  the  very  next 
year  that  the  Transvaal  Government  decided  to  open  negotiations  with 
London  for  the  alteration  of  the  Pretoria  Convention  of  1881.  By  an- 
other coincidence  of  events  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  Governor  of  Cape 
Colony  and  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  was  also  in  London. 
It  was  in  June  of  this  year  (1883)  that  the  Transvaal  Government  first 
proposed  to  send  a  deputation  to  reconsider  the  Convention.  The  Earl 
of  Derby,  who  was  at  this  time  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  agreed  to  re- 
ceive the  deputation  and  fixed  the  month  of  November  as  the  earliest 
date  at  which  the  meetings  would  take  place.  It  was  one  of  the  significant 
facts  connected  with  the  whole  case  that  the  Government  of  the  day  had 
appointed  to  the  responsible  position  of  Colonial  Secretary  such  a  man 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884.  535 

as  the  Earl  of  Derby  in  recent  years  had  become.  Whatever  the  causes 
of  his  misfortune  were,  he  was  known  to  have  fallen  into  an  attitude  of 
mind  the  very  opposite  of  intense,  progressive  and  energetic.  He  was  a 
most  curious  individual,  easy  apparently  in  disposition  and  carrying  the 
heaviest  load  of  responsibility  as  lightly  as  a  feather.  From  such  a  one 
no  vigorous  grasp  of  the  protean  problems  of  a  region  not  considered 
particularly  interesting  was  to  be  expected.  But  he  had  now  to  feel  the 
force  of  a  resurgent  wave  of  public  feeling  and  opinion.  He  was  un- 
doubtedly greatly  strengthened  in  his  subsequent  negotiations  with  the 
Transvaal  delegates  by  the  fact  that  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  himself  had 
become  an  enthusiastic  convert  to  the  plans  advocated  by  Mr.  Mackenzie. 

The  negotiations  began  with  a  personal  interview  on  Nov.  7,  1883. 
The  deputation  consisted  of  President  Kruger,  Mr.  S.  J.  Dutoit,  superin- 
tendent of  education,  and  Mr.  N.  J.  Smit,  a  member  of  the  Volksraad. 
They  were  requested  to  submit  in  writing  the  proposals  which  they  had 
to  make  regarding  the  revision  of  the  Convention.  In  doing  so  the  depu- 
tation did  not  shrink  from  criticising  the  Convention  of  1881  as  a  whole, 
in  regard  to  its  general  purpose,  as  well  as  in  most  important  particu- 
lars. It  has  sometimes  been  urged  that  the  earlier  Convention  had  not 
been  ratified  by  the  Volksraad;  but  in  this  document  the  deputation 
themselves  asserted  that  it  was  ratified  although  they  said,  "under  com- 
pulsion, to  prevent  further  bloodshed." 

The  negotiations  began  with  a  request  from  Lord  Derby  that  the 
Transvaal  delegates  should  put  into  writing  an  outline  of  those  matters 
regarding  which  they  desired  a  change  in  the  relations  of  the  two  coun- 
tries. With  this  the  delegates  immediately  complied  and  submitted  a 
document  in  which  they  boldly  demanded  that  the  Pretoria  Convention 
of  1881  should  be  completely  abrogated  and  that  the  Sand  River  Conven- 
tion of  1852  should  be  made  the  basis  of  a  new  Convention.  The  motives 
for  this  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  as  they  became  transparent  in  the 
course  of  the  negotiations  which  we  must  describe. 

The  substance  and  sum  total  of  the  demands  of  the  deputation  may 
be  stated  in  the  words, — Complete  independence  of  Great  Britain  and 
complete  control  of  South  Africa  north  of  Cape  Colony.  Inasmuch  as 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cape  Colony  are  Dutch  this  proposal, 
if  it  had  been  accepted,  would  apparently  have  led  very  speedily  to  the 


53G  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884. 

establishment  of  that  dream  which  had  begun  to  take  definite  shape  and 
form  in  the  minds  of  the  Boers,  of  an  Afrikander  or  Dutch  Republic  that 
should  embrace  the  entire  territories  of  South  Africa  within  its  boun- 
daries. 

Lord  Derby  very  firmly  but  clearly  decided  that  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  going  back  to  the  Sand  River  Convention.  "It  is  not  possible," 
he  said,  "to  entertain  the  suggestion  that  that  Convention  has  now  any 
vitality,  or  that,  if  it  could  be  revived,  it  would  meet  the  requirements 
of  the  present  case.  That  Convention,  like  the  Convention  at  Pretoria, 
was  not  a  treaty  between  two  contracting  powers,  but  was  a  declaration 
made  by  the  Queen,  and  accepted  by  certain  persons  at  that  time  her 
subjects,  of  the  conditions  under  which,  and  the  extent  to  which,  Her 
Majesty  could  permit  them  to  manage  their  own  affairs  without  inter- 
ference." Lord  Derby  asserted  in  consequence  that  if  any  agreement 
was  now  to  be  reached  it  must  be  through  a  fresh  series  of  negotiations 
whose  results  should  be  embodied  in  a  "new  instrument." 

The  first  of  the  four  sets  of  proposals  made  by  the  delegates  had  re- 
gard to  the  western  boundary  of  the  Transvaal.  They  urged  that  the 
boundary  line  as  fixed  by  the  Pretoria  Convention  had  been  a  source  of 
endless  trouble;  it  had  occasioned  "robbery,  murder  and  countless  dis- 
turbances." It  was  urged  that  some  of  the  tribes  had  repudiated  the 
line,  and  had  even  refused  to  allow  the  beacons  erected  upon  it  to  re- 
main. This  was  due,  of  course,  as  we  have  explained  above,  to  the  fact 
that  their  territories  were  split  in  two,  part  being  placed  within  the 
Transvaal  and  part  without.  "The  lawful  territorial  chiefs,"  it  was  said, 
"have  refused  to  accept  this  boundary;  have  even  formally  and  repeat- 
edly protested  against  it,  because  they  did  not  wish  to  be  shut  out  from 
the  protection  afforded  to  them  by  the  Republic."  A  man  must  be  a 
South  African,  or  at  any  rate  know  somewhat  intimately  the  atmos- 
phere of  native  thought  and  feeling  around  the  Transvaal  borders  re- 
garding the  Boers,  after  fifty  years  of  trekking  and  fighting,  fully  to 
appreciate  the  humor  of  this  argument.  It  could  only  have  been  seri- 
ously formulated  and  defended  in  London,  6,000  miles  away  from  the 
poor  native  chiefs  whose  opinions  were  being  discussed,  and  whose  terri- 
torial rights  were  being  determined  without  a  single  one  of  them  being 
allowed  to  be  witness  in  his  own  behalf  or  to  urge  his  own  rights. 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884.  537 

When  asked  to  make  a  definite  proposal  regarding  this  boundary  the 
delegates  put  no  limit  to  their  boldness.  They  demanded  that  the  whole 
of  South  Bechuanaland  should  be  placed  within  their  territories,  nam- 
ing as  the  outside  limit  of  their  country,  a  straight  line  drawn  from 
the  most  westerly  point  of  Lake  Ngami  to  the  northernmost  point  of  the 
Langeberg.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  this  line  would  fall 
west  of  Kuruman;  in  fact  they  demanded  that  the  entire  interior  of 
South  Africa  should  be  placed  within  their  boundary  lines.  In  this 
case  Great  Britain  would  have  been  shut  out  from  all  possibility  of  ex- 
pansion northward,  her  trade  route  would  have  been  closed,  and  she 
would  have  ceased  to  be  the  paramount  power  in  South  Africa. 

In  favor  of  their  claims  the  Boers  submitted  a  long  historical  state- 
ment regarding  their  relations  to  the  native  tribes  in  Bechuanaland,  a 
statement  which  can  only  fill  with  amazement  those  who  know  the  facts 
of  the  case.  Tribes  were  named  as  in  subjection  to  them  in  whose  ter- 
ritory not  a  single  Boer  had  ever  settled,  and  against  whom  they  had 
gained  no  victories.  One  chief  (Montsioa)  already  referred  to  was  most 
specially  discussed,  the  history  of  whose  relations  to  the  Boers  is  one 
of  the  most  pathetic  of  all.  His  father  had  rescued  the  pioneer  Boers 
from  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  Zulu-Matabele  savages;  had  been 
treated  as  their  ally  and  friend.  During  Montsioa's  own  day  the  Boers 
had  proposed  to  fix  the  boundary  line  between  his  territory  and  theirs, 
and  this  had  been  done.  At  a  later  time,  alas,  it  was  against  him  and 
his  authority  that  they  had  turned.  They  discovered  an  obscure  man, 
named  Moshette,  whom  they  had  exalted  as  paramount  chief,  and  whose 
battles  they  had  fought  as  volunteers  against  Montsioa,  the  true  chief. 
It  was  Montsioa  also  who  had  repeatedly  petitioned  the  British  Govern- 
ment for  protection  from  the  Boers.  He  was  one  of  the  chiefs  whose 
valuable  and  central  territory  the  Boer  delegates  now  claimed  as  theirs, 
on  the  ground  of  conquest  and  occupation. 

No  less  baseless,  but  much  more  ridiculous,  were  the  claims  to  the 
territory  of  Sechele,  the  friend  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  the  territory 
around  Kuruman,  where  Scottish  missionaries  had  settled  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century. 

To  all  these  claims  Lord  Derby  made  a  very  firm  answer,  which  as 
much  astonished  as  it  disappointed  the  Transvaal  deputation.  Lord 


538  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884. 

Derby  was  now  able  to  say  "that  there  is  a  strong  feeling  in  this 
country  in  favor  of  the  requests  of  these  chiefs  that  their  independence 
may  be  secured  if  they  cannot  come  under  British  rule."  In  his  own 
proposals,  with  the  usual  spirit  of  compromise  which  has  marked  British 
dealings  with  the  Boers  from  first  to  last,  he  agreed  to  add  to  the  recog- 
nized territories  of  the  Transvaal  the  lands  of  Moshette  and  of  Massouw. 
These  two  men  had  allowed  Boer  volunteers  to  fight  their  unrighteous 
battles,  to  settle  in  their  country,  and  it  was  perhaps  a  fair  retribution 
that  they  should  lose  their  independence  in  this  fashion.  Lord  Derby 
further,  and  to  prevent  any  more  argument  on  the  matter,  stated  that  a 
British  resident  or  commissioner  was  about  to  be  appointed  who  would 
have  these  very  regions  under  his  direction.  This  was  the  first  notice 
which  the  deputation  had  received  of  the  significant  change  in  the 
attitude  of  the  British  Government,  which  had  been  produced  by  the 
agitations  of  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  the  South  African  committee.  It  was 
with  considerable  reluctance  that  President  Kruger  and  his  associates 
found  themselves  contemplating  this  unexpected  development  in  their 
South  African  relations,  and  they  strove  hard  to  adduce  reasons  and  to 
prophesy  events  with  a  view  to  arrest  the  proposed  advance  of  British 
authority  inland  upon  Bechuanaland.  But  Lord  Derby  was  in  this 
matter  fully  advised  from  day  to  day,  and  his  position  was  confirmed 
by  the  advisers  whom  he  consulted  and  by  the  strong  adhesion  of  the 
High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  to  the  new 
policy. 

The  second  matter  with  which  the  delegation  was  concerned  was 
that  of  the  suzerainty.  This  word  had  occurred  only  in  the  preamble 
of  the  Pretoria  Convention  of  1881.  It  was  a  word  hitherto  unknown 
to  international  law  or  to  any  of  the  relations  of  the  British  Empire. 
Its  significance  was  defined  in  the  articles  of  the  convention.  It  was 
especially  defined  by  the  presence  of  a  British  Resident  at  Pretoria 
through  whom  all  the  correspondence  of  the  Boer  Government  with  any 
other  Government  had  to  pass,  and  to  whom  all  new  laws  regulating 
the  government  of  natives  within  the  Transvaal  had  to  be  submitted. 
The  deputation  urged  that  the  presence  of  this  Resident  at  Pretoria 
rather  hindered  than  facilitated  the  work  of  government.  They  found 
that  this  way  of  corresponding  with  foreign  powers  was  roundabout  and 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884.  539 

complicated,  and  further  they  urged  that  since  only  through  the  British 
Resident  were  they  able  to  communicate  with  native  chiefs  outside  of 
the  Republic,  it  "had  led  to  a  great  increase  of  cattle  thefts  by  the 
Kaffirs."  That  is  to  say,  the  'Transvaal  Government  professed  to  be 
hindered  in  its  administration  of  justice  on  its  own  borders,  and  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  law  against  cattle  stealing,  by  the  presence  of  a 
British  Resident  who  was  appointed  to  co-operate  with  them  in  all  such 
measures! 

The  third  matter  of  complaint  was  that  inasmuch  as  all  new  regula- 
tions regarding  the  native  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal  had  to  be 
approved  by  the  British  representative,  the  interests  of  these  natives 
also  were  rather  injured  than  conserved  by  this  method,  for,  they  urged, 
"milder  and  at  the  same  time  more  satisfactory  measures  could  be 
taken,  if  we  were  at  liberty  to  at  once  make  provision  suitable  to  every 
emergency  than  if  a  previously  sanctioned  law  has  to  provide  generally 
for  every  possible  occurrence." 

The  result  of  the  prolonged  negotiations  was  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment agreed  to  withdraw  its  Resident  and  to  grant  full  power  to  self-gov- 
ernment to  the  South  African  Republic,  which  now  was  for  the  first  time 
formally  recognised  under  that  title.  A  British  officer  would  be  ap- 
pointed to  reside  at  Pretoria,  or  elsewhere  within  the  South  African 
Republic,  to  "discharge  functions  analogous  to  those  of  a  consular 
office."  The  independence  of  the  Transvaal,  which  was  thus  granted 
without  being  in  any  article  asserted  or  defined,  was  at  one  important 
point  seriously  and  finally  curtailed.  The  fourth  article  decides  as 
follows:  "The  South  African  Republic  will  conclude  no  treaty  or  en- 
gagement with  any  state  or  nation  other  than  the  Orange  Free  State, 
nor  with  any  native  tribe  to  the  eastward  or  westward  of  the  Republic, 
until  the  same  has  been  approved  by  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen."  This 
article  it  is  which  in  the  eyes  of  international  law  deprives  the  Transvaal 
Government  of  the  possession  of  full  international  sovereignty.  It  does 
stand  in  all  the  important  relations  which  it  may  occupy  to  all  other 
governments,  European  or  South  African,  except  one  only,  or  even  to 
native  tribes,  in  a  relation  of  real  dependence  upon  the  British  crown. 

Other  articles  there  were  which  dealt  with  the  relations  of  the  Boer 
Government  henceforth  to  their  own  citizens.  The  presence  of  these 


540  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  i 

articles  in  this  convention  beyond  all  question  makes  the  Transvaal 
Government  responsible  to  Great  Britain  for  their  fulfilment,  and  the 
British  Government  responsible  if  they  should  be  steadily  ignored  and 
broken.  According  to  the  eighth  article,'  "The  South  African  Republic 
renews  the  declaration  made  in  the  Sand  River  Convention,  and  in  the 
Convention  of  Pretoria,  that  no  slavery  or  apprenticeship  partaking 
of  slavery  will  be  tolerated  by  the  Government  of  the  said  Republic." 
The  ninth  article  provides  for  complete  religious  liberty.  The  fourteenth 
article  is  one  whose  importance  is  very  great  in  view  of  the  controversies 
which  have  arisen  regarding  the  position  of  Outlanders  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, controversies  which  culminated  in  the  ultimatum  of  October  9, 
1899. 

The  last  of  the  four  matters  with  which  the  delegates  asserted  that 
they  were  much  concerned  was  that  of  the  debt  which  the  Transvaal 
Government  owed  to  Great  Britain.  This  debt  had  been  incurred  dur- 
ing the  time  of  British  occupation,  partly  through  the  payment  of  the 
original  national  debt  of  the  country,  amounting  to  £128,352,  or  about 
three-quarters  of  a  million  dollars,  partly  through  the  expenses  of  gov- 
ernment during  the  years  of  occupancy  over  and  above  the  income 
derived  from  taxation  in  that  disturbed  period,  partly  through  the 
war  against  Secocoeni.  The  total  amount  of  the  debt  at  the  date 
of  this  delegation  was  £380,856  (about  f  1,900,000).  The  delegates  com- 
plained of  various  things,  but  at  last  secured  the  remission  of  the  deficit 
incurred  during  the  British  administration  of  the  country,  amounting 
to  £127,000,  £6,000  more  were  struck  off  for  no  clear  reason,  and  the 
debt  was  determined  to  be  from  that  date  forward  £250,000  (about 
$1,250,000),  on  which  interest  was  to  be  paid  at  3^  per  cent. 

When  one  reads  the  Pretoria  Convention  of  1881  and  then  the  articles 
drawn  up  at  the  London  Convention  and  agreed  to  in  1884,  one  is  amazed 
at  the  extraordinary  success  of  the  Transvaal  delegates.  Either  their 
diplomacy  was  remarkable  in  its  cleverness,  or  the  British  Government 
were  acquiescent  in  the  extreme.  Whatever  the  cause  is,  the  fact  is 
that  on  every  important  point  the  Transvaal  delegation  got  their  way 
except  on  one.  It  is  true  that  there  is  in  this  Convention  no  definite 
statement  that  Great  Britain  shall  have  no  right  of  further  interference 
with  the  internal  government  of  the  Transvaal;  that  seems  to  have 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884.  541 

been  taken  for  granted,  but  is  not  stated,  except  in  so  far  as  those  mat- 
ters of  internal  government  are  concerned  which  were  specifically  named 
in  these  articles. 

The  one  object  which  the  delegation  had  very  largely  failed  to  secure 
was  evidently  regarded  by  them  as  of  supreme  importance.  The  tone  in 
which  they  afterwards  discussed  the  Convention  revealed  their  deep 
dissatisfaction,  as  if  the  main  proposal  of  the  delegates  had  failed. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  had  set  their  hearts  upon  obtaining 
possession  of  Bechuanaland.  That  one  plan  was  a  key  to  the  future  of 
their  history.  If  realized  it  would  have  made  the  Transvaal  at  once 
and  without  dispute  the  paramount  power  in  South  Africa,  more  im- 
portant than  Natal  or  the  Orange  Free  State  or  even  Cape  Colony, 
more  important  than  the  Imperial  authority  itself.  Having  failed  to 
secure  this  hope  the  delegates  found  their  country  still  less  than  Cape 
Colony  in  importance,  and  less  than  the  Orange  Free  State  in  power. 
The  Convention  not  only  fixed  the  boundaries  so  as  to  leave  the  road  into 
the  interior  open  to  Great  Britain,  but  in  the  second  article  it  bound 
the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  to  "strictly  adhere  to  the 
boundaries  defined,"  and  to  "do  its  utmost  to  prevent  any  of  its  inhab- 
itants from  making  any  encroachments  upon  lands  beyond  the  said 
boundaries."  A  faithful  adherence  to  these  articles  would  compel 
them  immediately  to  withdraw  their  citizens  who  had  gathered  on  the 
western  borders,  and  to  compel  those  who  had  settled  beyond  the 
boundaries,  and  forsooth  had  set  up  two  new  Boer  republics  in 
Bechuanaland,  to  retire  to  their  own  country,  leaving  the  Bechuana 
tribes  unmolested.  It  is  true  that  these  petty  republics  had  not  been 
mentioned  by  the  delegates,  who  did  not  .dare  to  recognize  their  exist- 
ence in  London,  nor  by  the  British  Government,  who  officially  knew 
only  of  native  tribes  and  their  rights.  But  the  moral  obligation  was 
beyond  doubt  laid  on  the  Transvaal  to  exert  its  influence  immediately 
to  put  an  end  to  these  encroachments  and  these  attempts  at  new  repub- 
lics. How  was  it  that  this  scheme  of  the  delegates  was  thus  successfully 
disappointed? 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  presence  of  the  Rev.  John  Mackenzie 
and  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  the  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa, 
in  London  at  this  time.  The  High  Commissioner  was  of  course  a  party 


542  THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884. 

to  the  Convention,  and  he  indeed  it  was  who  signed  it  on  behalf  of  Great 
Britain.  When  the  negotiations  began  a  letter  was  submitted  from 
Monkoroane,  one  of  the  leading  chiefs  in  Bechuanaland,  whose  territory 
was  at  stake.  In  this  letter  he  said  that  having  been  prevented  by  the 
Acting  Governor  at  Cape  Town  from  coming  personally  to  London,  he 
desired  to  appoint  Mr.  Mackenzie  as  his  official  representative,  and  he 
claimed  the  right  to  be  represented  in  this  discussion. 

The  British  Government,  without  adducing  any  good  reason,  but 
very  probably  from  a  desire  not  to  offend  President  Kruger  at  the  out- 
set, declined  to  receive  any  representative  from  this  or  any  other  chief, 
but  at  the  same  time  avowed  their  willingness  to  receive  and  consider 
any  representations  which  might  be  made  on  his  behalf.  In  spite  of 
this  restriction  upon  his  official  authority,  Mr.  Mackenzie  was  kept  by 
Lord  Derby  and  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  in  constant  consultation  with 
them.  He  was  a  man  of  indubitable,  and  indeed  of  widely  known,  in- 
tegrity and  purity  of  character.  He  was  also  more  thoroughly  and 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  history,  politics  and  customs  of  the  na- 
tive tribes  in  Bechuanaland  than  any  other  living  man.  His  advice 
therefore  was  given  with  all  regard  for  justice  and  fairness  towards 
both  the  Boers  and  the  Bechuanas.  He  did  not  conceal  his  convictions 
that  the  claims  of  the  Transvaal  delegates  were  absolutely  without 
foundation  in  history  or  in  justice.  He  no  less  openly  avowed  his  con- 
viction that  the  native  tribes  had  most  sacred  rights  within  their  own 
territories  which  the  British  Government  were  bound  in  honor  to  recog- 
nize and  to  conserve.  His  whole  energy  was  therefore  given  to  the 
preservation  of  these  native  tribes  in  their  own  rights,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  keeping  open  to  British  influence  and  if  possible  bringing  under 
British  control  the  great  road  leading  through  this  region  into  the  heart 
of  the  continent. 

It  was  then  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  and  this  missionary,  whose  work 
together  in  London  succeeded  in  enlightening  the  British  Government 
as  to  their  responsibilities  and  duties  in  relation  to  Bechuanaland. 
That  this  fact  was  perfectly  well  known  to  the  Boers  themselves  is  evi- 
dent from  the  violent  and  passionate  speech  which  President  Kruger 
allowed  himself  to  make  when  the  Convention  was  being  discussed  by 
the  Volksraad  at  Pretoria.  The  Raad  accused  the  British  Government 


THE  LONDON  CONVENTION,  1884,  543 

of  injustice,  and  President  Kruger  defended  the  Government  by  blam- 
ing those  whom  he  called  "traitors  and  intriguers,  of  whom  Mr.  Macken- 
zie was  one."  He  explained  "that  Her  Majesty,  the  Queen,  was  bound 
to  receive  and  accept  as  final  the  advice  of  her  officials,  and  these 
officials  were  dependent  upon  information  received  from  others."  "At 
present  the  Government  went  on  the  lies  of  liars.  If  it  had  not  been 
for  Mr.  Mackenzie  and  the  High  Commissioner  I  should  have  been  all 
right.  These  liars  had  stirred  up  the  people  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the 
Government,  and  therefore  the  deputation  had  approached  the  people 
with  their  memorandum.  The  whole  ministry  had  listened  to  them 
with  attention;  that  was  a  fact,  and  so  His  Honor  did  not  blame 
Her  Majesty  nor  Her  Majesty's  Government."  He  claimed  that  the  liars 
and  intriguers  whom  he  had  mentioned  were  the  reason  that  every- 
thing was  not  settled  as  they  wished.  "The  High  Commissioner  and 
Mackenzie  were  the  origin  of  the  opposition  experienced."  This  quota- 
tion is  made  not  only  to  show  the  lengths  to  which  the  powerful  and 
shrewd  President  can  go  in  traducing  the  character  of  honorable  men 
who  have  differed  from  him,  but  as  showing  the  vast  importance  which 
in  1884  the  Transvaal  Government  attached  to  the  possession  of  Bech- 
uanaland. 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    SOUTH    BECHUANALAND. 

AT  THE  close  of  the  conference  with  the  Transvaal  delegates  which 
resulted  in  the  London  Convention  of  1884,  the  Earl  of  Derby  an- 
nounced to  President  Kruger  and  his  associates  that  the  British 
Government  had  now  undertaken  to  establish  the  authority  of  the  Queen 
in  Bechuanaland,  and  that  they  had  appointed  Mr.  John  Mackenzie  as 
deputy  commissioner.  On  the  Government  side  this  step  was  taken  on  the 
very  strong  advice  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  Governor  of  Cape  Colony, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  in  close  correspondence  with  Mr.  Mackenzie 
and  who  knew  of  the  administrative  work  he  had  done  in  former  years 
under  Colonel  Warren  and  at  the  invitation  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere.  Mr. 
Mackenzie  has  described  the  unwillingness  with  which  he  gave  up  his 
missionary  work.  He  had  already  more  than  once  declined  similar 
invitations,  but  on  this  occasion  it  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  path  of  duty 
that  he  should  attempt  to  guide  the  affairs  of  a  territory  which  he  knew 
so  well,  all  of  whose  chiefs  trusted  him  and  were  ready  to  accept  his 
advice  and  follow  his  directions.  He  had  the  promise  of  a  force  of  not 
less  than  200  police,  a  number  which  was  deemed  amply  sufficient  to 
enable  him  to  assert  the  Queen's  authority  and  manifest  her  determina- 
tion to  take  over  South  Bechuanaland  once  for  all. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  this  appointment  was  telegraphed  to  Cape 
Town  replies  came  that  the  appointment  had  been  received  with  great 
disfavor.  The  disfavor  was,  however,  confessedly  confined  to  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  and  its  sympathizers  in  the  Afrikander  Bond  at  Cape 
Town.  Mr.  Mackenzie  probably  hardly  realized  at  that  time  the  extra- 
ordinary power  which  the  Bond  was  about  to  exert,  and  the  efforts 
which  the  Boer  leaders  were  about  to  make  at  Cape  Town  to  render  the 
recent  decision  of  the  British  Government  regarding  Bechuanaland  of 
none  effect.  He  went  out  relying  thoroughly  upon  the  consistent  sup- 
port of  his  friend,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  and  his  own  past  experience 
of  unfailing  friendliness  both  with  natives  and  with  Boers  whensoever 

544 


GEN.  SIR  A.  HUNTER 


GEN.  SIR  CORNELIUS   F.  CLERY 


MAJ.-GEN.  SIR  WILLIAM  GATACRE 


LT.-GEN.  SIR  F.  W.  E.  FORESTIER 
WALKER 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AND  SOUTH  BECHUANALAND.  545 

he  came  into  personal  dealings  with  them.  It  was  with  high  hopes  and 
the  best  wishes  of  .the  best  friends  of  South  Africa  that  this  missionary 
statesman  sailed  from  the  shores  of  England  in  the  spring  of  1884.  He 
proceeded  as  speedily  as  possible  northwards,  going  by  ox  wagon  from 
Kimberley  into  Stellaland  and  Goshen.  When  once  in  Bechuanaland 
he  very  soon  discovered  that  hostile  influences  were  at  work  behind  him 
in  Cape  Town,  and  to  his  amazement  found  that  even  the  chief  whom 
he  trusted  was  not  acting  upon  the  promises  made  in  London.  He  was 
hampered  by  the  lack  of  police  and  the  refusal  of  the  Governor  to  supply 
him  with  police,  and  was  actually  left  to  go  into  the  hostile  camps  of  the 
tiny  Boer  Republics  practically  alone  to  represent  the  Queen's  author- 
ity, proclaim  the  Imperial  protectorate  over  Bechuanaland,  and  begin 
the  work  of  administration.  Single-handed  and  unarmed  he  met  the 
leaders  of  both  Kepublics.  A  striking  scene  took  place  in  Stellaland 
when  the  people  persuaded  him  to  let  them  haul  down  their  own  flag 
—on  which,  by  the  by,  there  was  represented  a  fish  with  a  spear  through 
it,  the  fish  being  the  sacred  emblem  of  the  native  tribes  of  that  district 
and  the  spear  announcing  what  the  Stellalanders  intended  to  do  to  them 
—and  in  its  place  to  raise  aloft  the  Union  Jack. 

There  were  innumerable  complications  and  troubles  with  regard  to. 
the  so-called  Administration  of  Stellaland,  the  occupants  of  office,  pay- 
ment of  salaries,  the  settlement  of  land  claims  created  by  the  existence 
of  this  Republic  for  two  or  three  years.  After  dealing  with  these  in 
the  temporary  and  tentative  fashion  which  was  alone  possible,  the 
Deputy  Commissioner  went  north  to  Rooi  Grond.  Here  the  Boers  were 
fiercer  and  more  defiant  than  at  the  southern  point,  and  no  one  can  fail 
to  wonder  at  the  daring  of  the  little  band  of  English  representatives  who 
rode  right  up  to  a  point  within  300  yards  of  the  Boer  laager,  w^here  the 
Boers  were  seen  riding  about  on  their  swift  horses,  fully  armed  and 
able  in  ten  minutes  to  make  an  end  of  those  who  came  in  the  name  of  the 
Queen. 

The  British  party  lept  from  the  saddle,  sent  their  horses  out  of  their 
own  reach  to  the  water,  and  waited  till  representatives  of  the  Boers 
approached  them.  When  challenged  to  say  what  their  presence  meant, 
Mr.  Mackenzie  announced  that  he  had  come  in  the  name  of  the  Queen 
to  proclaim  the  British  protectorate.  "In  replying,"  he  says,  "I  stood 


546  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  SOUTH  BECHU 'AN 'ALAND. 

up  and  showing  them  my  commission,  informed  them  that  my  business 
would  not  need  a  long  time  to  accomplish.  This  was  my  commission 
from  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner.  Its  purport  was  that  Her 
Majesty's  authority  was  established  in  Bechuanaland,  and  in  the  Baro- 
long  country  as  a  part  of  that;  that  fact  I  now  announced  to  them  in 
reply  to  their  message  and  as  my  answer.  'But  we  were  not  told  to 
listen  to  anything- of  that  sort,'  they  said,  moving  off.  'That  may  be,' 
I  answered,  'you  are  the  judges  of  your  own  conduct;  but  it  is  my  duty 
to  reply  to  your  message,  and  my  reply  is  what  3rou  have  heard,  that 
the  Queen's  authority  is  established,  and  the  management  of  affairs  is 
in  my  hands.'  By  this  time  they  had  turned  their  horses'  heads  and 
were  moving  off,  evidently  not  wishing  to  hear  too  much." 

Throughout  his  journey  through  Bechuanaland  the  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner was  received  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm  and  joy  by  the  native 
chiefs.  They  felt  absolute  confidence  in  the  Government  which  had 
now  stepped  in  and  had  sent  him  as  their  representative.  Throughout 
his  journey,  alas!  he  was  also  pursued  by  the  feeling,  which  was  in- 
creased with  almost  every  telegram  he  received  from  Cape  Town,  that 
the  attitude  of  the  High  Commissioner  towards  himself  had  changed 
and  that  he  was  not  receiving  the  support  which  wras  due  to  him.  Ac- 
cordingly he  returned  to  Cape  Town  in  order  to  come  to  an  understand- 
ing with  those  without  whom  he  could  not  act.  Mr.  Mackenzie  soon 
discovered  that  the  High  Commissioner,  whose  deputy  he  was,  would 
not  longer  act  with  him,  and  laid  the  blame  upon  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment and  their  S37mpathizers  at  Cape  Town.  The  obvious  answer  from 
Mr.  Mackenzie's  side  was,  of  Bourse,  that  since  he  had  been  appointed 
to  undo  the  bad  work  done  by  the  subjects  of  the  Transvaal  Government 
and  with  the  connivance  of  that  Government,  the  last  thing  that  could 
be  expected  was  that  he,  or  any  other  man,  appointed  to  do  that  work 
and  attempting  to  carry  it  out,  would  be  approved  by  them.  Neverthe- 
less, although  he  had  the  right  to  hold  his  ground  and  to  appeal  even 
to  the  Earl  of  Derby  for  the  fulfilment  of  explicit  promises  made  to 
him,  he  decided  to  resign  his  office,  and  allow  those  who  thought  they 
could  bring  order  out  of  chaos  to  do  so. 

Nowhere  was  this  resignation  received  with  more  keen  disappoint- 
ment and  dismay  than  in  Stellaland  itself.  The  Stellalanders,  in  fact, 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  SOUTH  BECHU  AN  ALAND.  547 

sent  in  a  petition  expressing  to  the  High  Commissioner  their  desire  that 
Mr.  Mackenzie  should  be  reinstated  in  his  former  office,  and  promising  to 
afford  every  material  assistance  in  their  power  in  the  support  of  his 
administration.  The  petition  was  of  course  opposed  by  the  more  de- 
termined of  the  Boer  party,  who  then  said  that  they  would  rather  await 
the  arrival  of  Sir  Charles  Warren.  Nevertheless,  the  petition  was 
signed  by  a  majority  of  the  actual  land  owners  in  Stellaland,  and  of 
those  who  signed  no  less  than  ninety-two  were  Boer  farmers!  Need- 
less to  say,  this  petition  received  absolutely  no  attention  from  those 
who  were  determined  that  nothing  less  than  a  military  expedition 
should  convince  them  of  England's  determination  to  hold  and  govern 
South  Bechuanaland.  It  was  retained  in  his  own  hands  by  Mr.  Rhodes 
for  three  months,  and  was  sent  to  London  only  four  months  after  its 
first  receipt  in  Cape  Town.  When  the  Stellalanders  found  how  their 
petition  had  been  treated,  and  that  Captain  Bower  and  others  accused 
them  of  disloyalty,  they  sent  to  Sir  Charles  Warren  and  demanded  a 
judicial  inquiry  into  the  value  of  the  petition.  Out  of  the  171  names, 
it  was  found  that  seventy-four  were  land  owners,  ninety-two  were  per- 
manent residents,  and  only  four  were  temporary  residents  or  travelers. 
One  signature  was  disallowed.  Sir  Charles  Warren  in  view  of  this 
petition  made  a  special  report  to  the  Imperial  Government,  asserting 
that  it  was  a  matter  of  very  great  significance  that  in  spite  of  the  coer- 
cion of  the  Boer  faction  ninety-four  farmers  had  signed  this  petition. 
"I  am  convinced,"  he  'said  "that  if  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  had  fair  play  he 
wrould  have  settled  this  territory  at  the  time  he  came  up  without  a 
stronger  force  than  200  police." 

Mr.  Cecil  J.  Rhodes  was  appointed  from  Cape  Town -to  act  in  Mr. 
Mackenzie's  place  in  Bechuanaland.  Mr.  Rhodes  immediately  at- 
tempted to  conciliate  the  Stellalanders  and  in  this  was  assisted  by  Cap- 
tain Bower,  who  was  believed  by  many  to  be  the  real  tool  among  Im- 
perial officials  of  the  Afrikander  Bond  at  this  time,  and  a  man  whose 
strong  will  had  swung  round  the  weaker  will  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson, 
forcing  him  to  give  up  the  plans  which  he  had  seen  so  clearly  and 
adopted  so  heartily  in  London  a  few  months  before.  A  visit  to  Bechu- 
analand was  also  made  a  little  later  by  the  Ministers  of  the  Cape  Col- 
ony. Mr.  Rhodes  even  went  the  length  of  signing  an  agreement  with 


548  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  SOUTH  BECHUANALAND, 

the  Stellalanders  which  revoked  the  proclamation  made  by  his  prede- 
cessor and  recognized  the  Stellaland  Republic  as  an  actual  govern- 
ment within  the  Imperial  protectorate  of  Bechuanaland.  Mr.  Rhodes 
in  fact  formed  an  agreement  with  the  Stellalanders  in  September  of  that 
year  (1884)  which  practically  handed  over  the  government  of  that  region 
to  the  Boer  freebooters,  whose  chief  and  able  leader  was  a  Mr.  Van 
Niekerk,  and  who  lived  in  territory  then  known  to  be  within  the  Trans- 
vaal. Mr.  Van  Niekerk  immediately  used  the  power  put  into  his  hands 
to  quell  loyalty  to  the  British  and  to  stimulate  the  desire  for  annexation 
to  the  Transvaal.  He  actually  caused  a  petition  to  be  made  to  himself 
and  his  fellow  Governors,  imploring  them  to  apply  to  Pretoria  for  protec- 
tion and  government.  At  about  the  same  time,  as  the  result  of  a  visit  of 
General  Joubert  to  the  other  Boer  Republic  called  Goshen,  though  with- 
out his  approval  as  to  time  and  manner,  a  formal  proclamation  was  made 
by  President  Kruger  and  the  Executive  at  Pretoria  by  which,  in  the 
interests  of  humanity  and  for  the  sake  of  native  chiefs,  Goshen  was 
taken  into  the  Transvaal  and  under  their  control.  The  proclamation 
was  so  ill-timed  that  even  General  Joubert  condemned  it  as  breach  of  a 
treaty.  This  proclamation,  as  well  as  even  the  consideration  of  the  pro- 
posal regarding  Stellaland,  constituted  a  distinct  and  grave  breach  of 
the  London  Convention,  which  had  only  been  signed  by  President 
Kruger  himself  a  few  months  before.  Needless  to  say,  the  proclama- 
tion was  at  once  withdrawn  when  that  step  was  demanded  in  the 
month  of  October  by  the  Imperial  Government.  During  that  time  a 
movement  had  taken  place  in  Cape  Colony  which  thoroughly  aroused 
the  Imperial  authorities. 

In  the  meantime  neither  Mr.  Rhodes,  nor  Captain  Bower,  nor  the 
Cape  Ministers,  succeeded  in  doing  anything;  they  only  increased  the 
complications  in  Bechuanaland.  It  looked  as  if  once  more  the  British 
Government  must  retire  from  that  territory,  and  as  if,  after  all,  the 
Transvaal  Government  would  gain,  by  brow-beating  at  Cape  Town  and 
in  Bechuanaland,  what  they  had  failed  to  secure  by  fair  diplomacy  in 
London.  It  looked  to  many  people  as  if  Bechuanaland  would  soon  be- 
come a  part  of  the  Transvaal. 

Once  more,  therefore,  Mr.  Mackenzie  set  out  upon  the  process  of 
educating  the  public  mind.  This  time  it  was  Cape  Colony  he  had  to 


THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  SOUTH  BECHU  AN  ALAND.  519 

educate.  He  began  at  Cape  Town  and  lectured.  His  pronouncements 
were  received  with  the  utmost  enthusiasm.  He  did  not  inveigh  against 
the  Dutch  as  such;  he  always  won  their  ear  when  he  had  the  chance  of 
speaking  to  them  candidly  on  the  real  principles  on  which  the  Gov- 
ernment of  South  Africa  could  be  peacefully  conducted.  He  met  the 
same  experience  when  he  traveled  from  one  town  to  another  throughout 
Cape  Colony.  Enthusiasm  was  awakened  throughout  the  land  for  the 
establishment  of  British  authority  in  Bechuanaland,  and  the  result  came 
in  the  overthrow  of  the  Ministry  at  Cape  Town,  which  had  acted  as  the 
tool  of  the  Transvaal  and  had  stood  in  the  way  of  British  sovereignty, 
and  in  the  loud  demand  of  the  Colony  for  a  military  expedition.  The 
demand  for  an  expedition  was  coupled  with  the  suggestion  that  Colonel 
Warren  should  be  its  commander.  The  Colonial  demand  was  so  loud,  so 
determined  and  so  enthusiastic  that  the  British  Government  at  last 
awoke  to  activity  and  sent  out  the  famous^  Warren  expedition,  which 
consisted  of  about  5,000  men.  This  expedition  cost  nearly  £1,000,000 
(about  $5,000,000)  of  money  and  was  sent  to  do  what  every  intelligent 
man  in  South  Africa,  and  Sir  Charles  Warren  himself  believed  that  Mr. 
Mackenzie  could  have  done  a  year  before  with  200  police.  It  was 
a  heavy  price  to  pay  for  weak  mindedness  at  Cape  Town  and  dilatoriness 
in  London.  The  Warren  expedition  on  which  Mr.  Mackenzie  served 
as  a  Civil  Commissioner,  proceeded  from  Kimberley  up  the  western 
border  of  the  Transvaal  as  far  as  Shoshong.  It  made  treaties  with  all 
the  native  chiefs,  who  were  enthusiastic  once  more  over  the  establish- 
ment of  the  sovereignty  of  the  good  Queen.  The  Boer  freebooters  dis- 
appeared over  the  borders,  or  submitted  with  as  much  grace  as  possible 
to  the  establishment  of  the  British  authority.  The  result  of  the  expedi- 
tion was  the  formal  creation  of  the  Crown  Colony  of  South  Bechuana- 
land. 

A  brief  reference  should  not  be  omitted  to  the  remarkable  and  inter- 
esting meeting  which  took  place  on  the  border  of  the  Transvaal  at  a 
spot  called  Fourteeh  Streams,  between  President  Kruger  and  Sir 
Charles  Warren.  The  General  had  consented  to  hold  this  conference 
within  the  Transvaal,  inasmuch  as  a  law  of  the  Transvaal  forbids  its 
President  from  leaving  the  country  without  the  special  permission  of 
the  Volksraad,  and  the  Volksraad  was  not  at  this  time  in  session. 


550  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  SOUTH  BECHU  AN  ALAND. 

Accompanying  Sir  Charles  Warren  were  Mr.  Rhodes,  Mr.  Mackenzie, 
and  some  of  his  staff,  together  with  200  soldiers.  President  Kruger 
appeared  with  Mr.  Leyds,  Mr.  de  Villiers  and  others,  together  with  fifty 
members  of  the  State  Artillery.  The  conference  was  interesting  for  the 
firmness  with  which  Sir  Charles  denounced  the  freebooters,  especially 
those  in  the  case  of  Goshen,  who  had  lived  on  the  Transvaal  side  of  the 
border  and  attacked  British  subjects  on  the  other.  President  Kruger 
made  a  remarkable  effort  to  prevent  Sir  Charles  from  taking  his  entire 
force  north  with  him,  proposing  that  they  two,  the  President  and  the 
General,  should  ride  to  Goshen  together,. marking  off  the  boundary  line 
and  accompanied  by  twenty-five  soldiers  apiece.  This  clever  suggestion 
would  have  destroyed  the  entire  moral  effect  intended  to  be  produced 
upon  the  country  by  the  appearance  of  the  military  expedition,  and  Sir 
Charles  Warren  firmly  declined  the  proposal.  The  President  had  abso- 
lutely no  excuse  to  offer  for  the  action  of  the  freebooters,  and  his  attempt 
to  argue  that  the  Transvaal  Government  was  not  responsible  for  them 
was  exceedingly  weak  and  quite  insincere.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
President  met  both  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Mr.  Mackenzie  with  frankness  and 
cordiality,  and  that  he  urged  against  the  latter  and  his  work  no  argu- 
ment of  a  personal  nature,  but  simply  the  technical  one  that  he  had 
appeared  in  Bechuanaland  and  established  the  protectorate  before  the 
Volksraad  had  ratified  the  London  Convention.  As  Mr.  Mackenzie  him- 
self observed,  this  criticism  reduced  the  Boer  objections  to  his  appoint- 
ment to  the  one  fact  that  he  represented  in  a  sincere  and  thorough-going 
manner  the  proposal  that  Great  Britain  should  directly  and  actually 
control  the  Government  of  Bechuanaland. 


CHAPTER   IV. 
THE    OUTLANDERS    OF    THE    TRANSVAAL. 

THE  TRANSVAAL. 

DURING  the  seventies  it  became  known  that  gold  was  to  be  found 
here  and  there  in  the  Transvaal  and  mining  work  began  at 
two  or  three  centers.  But  it  was  not  until  the  year  1885  that 
the  extraordinary  richness  of  the  gold  mines  near  Pretoria  was  discov- 
ered. About  thirty  miles  south  of  Pretoria,  amid  very  bleak  and  bar- 
ren scenery,  beside  a  little  stream  called  the  Witwater  (the  white  water) 
there  is  a  long,  low  ridge  or  "Rand''  which  has  been  found  to  con- 
tain, packed  within  its  soil,  one  of  the  richest  gold  deposits  ever  dis- 
covered. When  the  rich  reefs  were  found  and  work  began  there  was 
a  rush  to  the  place  which  in  a  very  few  years  transformed  the  waste 
land  into  a  huge  city  of  100,000  people. 

The  Boer  government  had  already  been  troubled  in  mind  at  the  in- 
crease of  immigration  caused  inevitably  by  the  mining  developments. 
Political  questions  had  immediately  arisen  which  divided  the  citizens 
into  two  parties.  The  one  led  by  Kruger  represented  the  unbending 
Tories,  the  unreasoning  conservatives  of  the  country.  To  them  the 
advent  of  foreigners  in  such  numbers  was  nothing  but  a  disturbing  fact 
with  which  they  could  not  bring  themselves  into  any  kind  of  har- 
mony. They  saw  that  if  they  granted  equal  rights  of  citizenship  on 
former  terms  to  all  who  arrived  the  government  would  speedily  pass 
out  of  their  own  hands.  The  other  party  was  led  by  Joubert,  the  fa- 
mous commander-in-chief  of  the  Transvaal  army.  He  is  a  man  of  much 
wider  travel,  better  read  and  more  open  minded.  He  has  always  main- 
tained that  the  foreigners  must  be  welcomed  and  must  receive  a  rea- 
sonable political  status  in  the  country  where  they  make  their  homes. 
In  the  contest  between  these  two  parties  Kruger  has  hitherto  won 
at  the  polls,  and  his  unbroken  victories,  even  when  gained  by  a  mere 

551 


552        THE  OUTLANDERS  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL. 

majority,  Lave  sufficed  to  bring  the  Transvaal  government  into  the  ter- 
rible position  in  which  this  year  it  finds  itself. 

A  large  number  of  the  original  citizens  of  the  Transvaal  have  made 
the  most  of  the  opportunities  which  the  economic  changes  in  their 
country  made  possible.  Many  of  them  sold  their  farms  at  prices  which, 
if  to-day  they  seem  small,  at  the  .time  of  the  sale  brought  them  more  in 
cash  than  they  ever  dreamed  of  possessing.  The  growth  of  the  great 
city  and  of  the  smaller  centers  has  opened  markets  for  their  farm  pro- 
duce larger  than  they  ever  saw  in  the  past.  Some  of  the  leading  citi- 
zens have  profited  enormously  by  some  of  the  business  arrangements 
which  the  Government  has  seen  fit  to  make.  Even  if  the  dynamite 
monopoly,  concerning  which  owners  of  the  mines  have  made  such  loud 
complaints,  is  a  monopoly  not  held  by  the  Government  itself,  yet 
individual  members  of  the  Government  have  large  interests  in  it. 

The  political  difficulties  have  been  increased  in  one  way  by  the  fact 
that  Johannesburg  is  not  like  the  other  mining  camps  which  have 
sprung  into  existence  in  other  regions.  The  gold  is  found  underground 
in  a  hard  soil  almost  like  rock,  which  needs  to  be  crushed  with  ma- 
chinery ere  the  minute  particles  of  gold  which  are  distributed  through 
it  with  amazing  regularity  can  be  extracted.  This  one  fact  has  neces- 
sitated the  use  of  capital  from  the  very  beginning  in  the  development  of 
these  mines.  The  town  accordingly  has  grown  up  largely  through  the 
arrival  of  great  numbers  of  people  who  came  to  take  up  the  positions 
of  wage-earners  and  salaried  officials,  intelligent,  enterprising,  hard- 
working, educated  men  in  the  service  of  the  large  corporations.  While 
therefore  the  city  does  contain  elements  of  life  and  character  which 
are  to  be  expected  in  every  such  miscellaneous  community,  there  is 
also  a  strength  and  steadiness  belonging  to  it  hitherto  unknown  amid 
ordinary  mining  populations  in  the  earlier  stages  of  their  history. 
While  numbers  of  these  immigrants  are  shiftless  adventurers  and  many 
of  them  of  positively  bad  character,  and  while  much  of  the  city  life 
is  reckless  and  wild,  spending  itself  in  gambling  and  self-indulgence, 
the  fact  must  be  universally  recognized  that  very  large  numbers  also 
are  people  of  high  character,  of  far  higher  education  and  training  than 
the  Boers,  people  who  represent  the  best  foresight,  energy  and  radi- 
calism of  the  world. 


THE  OUTLANDERS  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL.  553 

Here  then  are  the  conditions  plain  and  obvious  of  a  very  difficult 
political  complication.  If  these  foreigners  had  even  formed  a  strong 
minority  of  the  whole  population  their  presence  would  have  presented 
many  thorny  problems  to  the  inexperienced  rulers;  but  when  with  rapid 
strides  the  foreign  population  approached  and  equaled,  and  then  far 
outstripped  the  numbers  of  the  Boers  the  situation  became  aggra- 
vated. If  again,  the  Boer  government  had  exercised  their  proverbial 
shrewdness  by  satisfying  the  foreigners  in  every  reasonable  demand 
concerning  their  commercial  projects  and  their  domestic  happiness, 
these  foreigners  might  have  lived  many  years  without  finding  any  just 
ground  of  complaint  against  their  masters.  Unfortunately  the  Trans- 
vaal government  have  fallen  into  some  very  serious  blunders  of  admin- 
istration and  these  blunders  have  produced  a  feeling  of  chronic  irri- 
tation and  driven  men  to  think  of  the  changes  that  would  follow  if 
only  they  could  exercise  the  franchise.  The  ordinary  grounds  of  com- 
plaint are  said  to  be  that  the  great  city  is  ruled  and  its  municipal 
affairs  conducted  by  incompetent  officials,  that  while  the  majority  of 
the  white  inhabitants  of  the  country  speak  English  their  children  are 
not  allowed  to  be  taught  in  the  English  language  in  the  schools  which 
their  parents  are  taxed  to  support,  that  the  methods  in  which  indi- 
rect taxation  is  arranged  and  in  which  the  enjoyment  of  Govern- 
ment concessions  is  upheld,  lay  an  inordinately  heavy  burden  upon 
the  income  of  the  citizens.  The  same  policy  seems  to, be  pursued  by 
the  Dutch  ruling  minority  of  the  Transvaal  which  is  pursued  by  the 
Dutch  ruling  majority  in  the  House  of  Assembly  of  Cape  Colony; 
namely,  that  of  arranging  that  the  taxation  shall  fall  more  heavily 
upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and  cities  than  upon  the  farming 
population.  But  no  one  in  Cape  Colony  dreams  of  appealing  to  Great 
Britain,  simply  because  the  minority  are  represented  in  their  parlia- 
ment. Further  it  is  asserted  that  foreigners  do  not  receive  justice  at 
the  hands  of  the  Transvaal  courts,  and  that  the  Volksraad  (national 
legislature)  has  the  power  by  passing  a  mere  resolution  at  any  time 
and  under  any  circumstances  to  alter  the  law  of  the  land,  the  judges 
having  no  power  to  question  the  authority  of  such  a  resolution  even 
in  the  light  of  the  constitution  of  the  republic.  Many  complaints  are 
made  regarding,  for  example,  the  treatment  of  the  natives,  the  arrange- 


554        THE  OUTLANDERS  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL. 

ments  for  transportation,  and  other  matters  which  bear  more  or  less 
directly  upon  the  commercial  prospects  of  the  community.  The  posi- 
tion may  be  briefly  summed  up  as  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead  has  put  it,  "The  South 
African  Republic  was  in  the  position  of  the  inverted  pyramid;  the 
majority  of  the  population,  possessing  more  than  half  the  land  and 
nine-tenths  of  the  wealth,  and  paying  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  taxes, 
had  practically  no  share  in  its  administration  and  no  voice  in  its  legis- 
lature." 

When  the  pressure  upon  the  Government  became  severe  President 
Kruger  was  always  able  to  use  one  argument  which  he  appears  to  have 
found  convincing  and  effective.  He  warned  his  followers  that  if  the 
foreigners  had  the  franchise  they  would  wrest  the  Government  from  the 
Boers  and  hand  over  the  country  to  Great  Britain.  It  is  here  that,  as 
it  would  seem,  President  Kruger's  far-famed  shrewdness  absolutely 
deserted  him.  Nothing  can  be  more  certain  concerning  such  a  matter 
than  that,  if  the  foreigners  had  received  the  franchise,  even  with  safe- 
guards intended  to  preserve  the  pre-eminence  of  the  Dutch  element  in 
the  country,  the  republic  as  then  constituted  would  have  been  as 
strongly  anti-British  and  as  little  likely  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  the 
Queen's  government  as  President  Kniger  himself.  Here  Joubert  has 
had  the  open  eye  and  Kruger  has  been  blind. 

There  were  others,  however,  who  were  not  blind  and  who  were 
prepared  to  give  another  turn  to  the  course  of  events  in  the  Transvaal 
than  that  contemplated  either  by  Kruger  or  by  the  invading  host 
against  whom  he  fought.  In  the  year  1895  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg 
decided  that  their  wrongs  had  reached  the  point  which  made  a  revolu- 
tion necessary.  Accordingly,  a  number  of  the  leading  spirits  of  the  city 
resolved  to  prepare  for  such  an  event.  They  felt,  however,  their  incom- 
petence to  carry  the  matter  through  against  the  armed  Boer  citizens 
who  would  be  immediately  brought  against  them.  Accordingly  they 
looked  round  to  discover  some  helper  from  the  outside.  They  appealed 
to  the  Right  Honorable  Cecil  J.  Rhodes.  Mr.  Rhodes  at  that  time  was 
the  most  composite  political  personage  on  the  wide  earth.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Privy  Council  of  Queen  Victoria;  he  was  Prime  Minister 
of  Cape  Colony  with  his  seat  of  authority  in  the  south  at  Cape  Town; 
he  was  also  managing  director  of  the  British  South  Africa  Chartered 


THE  OUTLANDERS  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL.  555 

Company,  which  means  that  he  was  practically  the  administrator  of  the 
vast  territory  ruled  by  that  company  to  the  north  of  the  Transvaal;  he 
was  also  chairman  of  the  De  Beers  Diamond  Mining  Company  at  Kim- 
berley,  which  means  that  he  was  at  the  head  of  the  largest  money  pro- 
ducing industry  in  Cape  Colony;  he  was  at  the  same  time  one  of  the 
leading  capitalists  of  the  gold  mining  industry  in  the  Transvaal.  As 
a  capitalist  he  was  personally  interested  in  the  development  of  Johan- 
nesburg, as  administrator  of  Rhodesia  he  had  military  forces  under  his 
control,  as  Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony  he  had  the  ear  of  the  High 
Commissioner  of  South  Africa  and  of  the  British  government  in  London. 
He  knew  personally  and  intimately  many  of  the  men  engaged  in  the 
conspiracy  at  Johannesburg.  He  saw  that  if  their  insurrection  placed 
them  in  power  they  would  form  a  stronger  independent  State  than 
Britain  had  to  deal  with  in  the  present  Boer  government.  Accordingly, 
it  seemed  to  him  not  only  in  the  interests  of  the  revolution  but  in  the 
interests  also  of  the  parties  ruling  in  South  Africa  that  he,  as  represen- 
tative of  the  British,  should  place  the  new  Government  of  the  Transvaal 
under  deep  and  permanent  obligations  to  himself. 

Mr.  Rhodes  made  the  momentous  resolution  to  help  the  revolution. 
His  action  may  be  judged  from  different  points  of  view.  If  the  proposed 
insurrection  was  wrong,  his  action  was  wrong.  If  it  was  right,  the 
Tightness  of  his  action  depends  partly  upon  the  relative  strength  of  the 
motives  which  led  to  his  decision,  and  partly  on  the  question  of  his 
fidelity  to  other  authorities  under  whom  he  was  placed.  As  to  his 
motives,  no  man  can  judge;  as  to  his  integrity  as  an  occupant  of  a 
number  of  public  offices,  much  may  be  said.  Mr.  Rhodes  endeavored  to 
put  himself  in  the  right  in  this  direction  by  communicating  at  once  with 
the  Colonial  Office  in  London. 

Now  in  London  the  Colonial  Secretary  was  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlain, 
one  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the  history  of  British  politics  during 
the  last  twenty  years.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  a  former  Radical  of  the  most 
advanced  type,  is  a  member  of  a  Conservative  government.  He  holds 
his  position  as  leader  of  that  portion  of  the  Liberal  party  which  revolted 
from  Mr.  Gladstone  on  the  question  of  Irish  Home  Rule.  It  is  largely 
through  the  influence  of  himself,  and  of  his  companions  in  this  revolt, 
that  the  Conservative  party  has  held  sway  so  long  in  Great  Britain. 


556        THE  OUTLANDERS  OF  THE  TRANSVAAL. 

He  has  used  his  position  of  extraordinary  influence  with  consummate 
skill  and  with  inscrutable  modifications  of  his  Radical  conscience. 
Presumably  one  of  the  chief  ambitions  of  Mr.  Chamberlain's  life  as 
Colonial  minister  has  been  to  distinguish  his  period  of  office  by  some 
great  and  striking  deeds  of  Imperial  splendor.  It  was  his  duty  of 
course  to  keep  himself  thoroughly  aware  of  everything  that  occurred 
which  might  affect  in  any  way  the  prosperity  of  any  British  colony. 
Hence  it  was  his  simple  duty  to  welcome  any  information  that  might  be 
given  to  him  concerning  prospective  revolutions  in  the  Transvaal.  Nor 
was  he  bound  by  any  consideration  to  make  this  information  known 
outside  his  office.  If  he  were  informed  that  this  revolution  was  inevit- 
able and  that  it  might  be  turned  to  a  profitable  account  for  the  other 
colonies  of  South  Africa,  and  for  South  Africa  as  a  whole,  he  was  not 
bound  to  publish  his  knowledge.  But  it  is  strongly  suspected,  indeed 
Mr.  Stead's  pamphlets  have  made  it  practically  certain,  that  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain took  another  step  of  a  more  serious  nature.  When  Mr.  Rhodes 
proposed  to  him,  through  a  trusted  messenger,  that  assistance  from  a 
British  territory  should  be  given  to  the  revolutionists  at  Johannesburg, 
Mr.  Chamberlain  seems  to  have  acquiesced  in  the  proposal,  or,  at  least, 
to  have  agreed  not  to  prevent  it.  Of  course  the  forces  directly  under 
the  control  of  the  British  government,  of  the  War  Office  in  London, 
could  not  be  so  employed.  But  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  administrator  of  Rhod- 
esia, was  also  master  of  a  large  force  of  efficient  volunteers  in  that 
region,  whose  skill  and  valor  had  already  been  amply  proved. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE    STORY    OF    THE    JAMESON    RAID. 

THE  principal  difficulty  which  confronted  those  who  desired  to  use 
.the  Volunteers  of  Rhodesia  for  the  deliverance  of  Johannesburg 
consisted  in  the  distance  which  separated  the  former  from  the  lat- 
ter place.  Mr.  Rhodes  and  his  friends  conceived  that  this  little  difficulty 
could  be  easily  surmounted  by  the  very  simple  and,  to  them,  obvious  and 
most  desirable  plan  of  placing  north  Bechuanaland,  the  country  of  King 
Khama,  under  the  administration  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company 
and  annexing  South  Bechuanaland  to  Cape  Colony.  This  would  not 
only  add  an  enormous  and  valuable  territory  to  the  posses- 
sions of  the  Company,  but  it  would  give  the  Company  the  right  to 
move  their  police  to  the  southern  limits  of  their  extended  domain. 
When  they  were  thus  removed  to  the  south  they  would  be  within  about 
150  miles  of  Johannesburg,  which  was  supposed  to  be  an  easy  striking 
distance.  But  at  this  very  time  King  Khama  and  two  other  chiefs  were 
making  a  notable  visit"to  England  to  prevent  this  very  transaction  from 
being  carried  out.  The  chiefs  were  received  with  very  considerable 
popular  enthusiasm,  were  very  pleasantly  entertained  by  some  of  the 
highest  personalities  in  the  country,  and  their  earnest  protest  against 
the  proposal  to  give  them  indirect  instead  of  direct  imperial  protection 
warmed  the  hearts  of  England.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Chamberlain  was 
unable  to  gratify  the  desire  of  his  friends^ 

But  this  proposal  was  not  made  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  the  coarse 
and  open  way  of  saying  that  Mr.  Rhodes  desired  the  control  of  the 
territory  near  Johannesburg,  where  he  could  place  his  police.  The 
reason  given  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  for  the  annexation  of  Bechuanaland 
to  Rhodesia  was  a  much  better  one  than  that.  It  was  that  the  British 
South  Africa  Company  desired  to  make  a  railway  from  Cape  Town 
right  up  through  the  heart  of  the  country  into  Rhodesia.  They 
could  not  be  expected  to  build  this  railway  through  Bechuanaland 
as  long  as  Bechuanaland  was  neither  a  real  colony  nor  the  property  of 

557  . 


558  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

a  colony.  Confessedly,  this  was  the  form  in  which  the  proposals  regard- 
ing Bechuanaland  were  presented  to  the  Colonial  Secretary.  By  a  stroke 
of  genius  on  the  part  of  some  one  it  was  proposed  at  a  critical  point  in 
the  negotiations  that  if  Bechuanaland  as  a  whole  could  not  be  given  to 
Mr.  Rhodes,  at  least  a  narrow  strip  along  the  western  border  of  the 
Transvaal  might  be  so  given,  through  which  the  railway  might  be  built. 
When  this  proposition  was  made  to  Khama  he  received  it  with  uncon- 
cealed delight.  King  Khama  is  probably  almost  as  shrewd  as  President 
Kruger,  and  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  his  smile  of  delight  was 
due  not  merely  to  the  fact  that  he  was  escaping  thus  the  unpleasant 
domination  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  his  company,  but  that  now  he  would 
have,  as  it  were,  a  "buffer  state"  between  him  and  the  much-dreaded 
Boers.  He  had  often  in  the  past  been  made  to  fear  lest  the  Boers  should 
insist  on  taking  part  of  his  territory  within  the  Transvaal,  if  now  a 
narrow  strip  of  territory  intervened  all  along  his  eastern  boundary  be- 
tween himself  and  the  Transvaal  this  fear  would  be  forever  stilled. 

King  Khama's  complacency  enabled  Mr.  Chamberlain  to  grant  to  Mr. 
Rhodes  this  important  territory  for  his  railway.  The  other  part  of  the 
plan  was  quietly  secured  through  the  Cape  Legislature  when  Mr.  Rhodes 
was  a  Prime  Minister;  the  story  of  this  annexation  of  an  unwilling 
people  to  the  Cape  Colony  is  told  elsewhere.  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Dr.  Jame- 
son immediately  began  to  use  Bechuanaland  as  the  "jumping-off  ground" 
from  which  they  could  most  rapidly  and  unexpectedly,  as  they  thought, 
reach  Johannesburg. 

In  the  city  of  Johannesburg  the  reformers  were  carrying  on  their 
constitutional  agitation  for  amendment  of  the  laws  of  the  land  and 
improvement  of  administration.  At  the  same  time  they  were  ripening 
their  plans  for  a  revolution.  The  plan  which  they  formed  was  one 
which  at  first  promised  to  be  easily  carried  through  and  certain  of  suc- 
cess. One  million  raunds  of  ammunition  and  5,000  rifles  and  three 
Maxim  guns  were  to  be  smuggled  into  Johannesburg.  In  addition  it 
was  thought  that  there  would  be  about  1,000  rifles  in  the  hands  of  pri- 
vate owners  already  in  the  city.  This  seemed  to  promise  that  a  very 
strong  force  of  men,  amounting  to  nearly  10,000,  might  be  rapidly  armed 
and  prepared  for  action.  That  which,  however,  gave  most  encourage- 
ment to  the  conspirators,  was  the  fact  that  at  this  time  the  fort  at 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  559 

Pretoria  was  very  poorly  guarded  by  about  100  men,  and  was  Known  to 
contain  a  large  amount  of  ammunition,  besides  rifles  and  supplies.  One 
of  the  conspirators  says, — "The  surrounding  wall  of  the  fort,  a  mere 
barrack,  had  been  removed  on  one  side  in  order  to  effect  some  additions; 
there  were  only  about  100  men  stationed  there,  and  all  except  half  a 
dozen  could  be  counted  on  as  being  asleep  after  9  p.  in.  There  never 
was  a  simpler  sensational  task  in  the  world  than  that  of  seizing  the 
Pretoria  fort — fifty  men  could  have  done  it.  *  *  *  It  wras  designed 
to  seize  the  fort  and  the  railway  on  the  night  of  the  outbreak  and,  by 
means  of  one  or  two  trains,  to  carry  off  as  much  of  the  material  as  possi- 
ble and  destroy  the  rest."  Again  he  says, — "Without  doubt  the  Pre- 
toria arsenal  was  the  key  of  the  position,  and  it  is  admitted  by  Boer 
and  alien  alike  that  it  lay  there  unguarded,  ready  to  be  picked  up,  and 
that  nothing  in  the  world  could  have  saved  it — except  what  did." 
(FitzPatrick.) 

That  which  did  save  it  was  Dr.  Jameson.  From  the  beginning  of 
the  movement  we  are  told  that  some  of  the  Reformers  in  Johannesburg 
deeply  dreaded  the  attempt  to  co-operate  with  the  forces  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company.  That  was  the  one  feature  of  their  plan  which 
they  feared  to  be  unwarranted  by  prospects  of  success  and  likely  to  in- 
troduce an  element  of  wrongdoing  that  would  be  their  undoing.  And  as 
it  turned  out  they  were  right.  But  the  majority  seemed  confident  that 
if  Dr.  Jameson  could  arrange  to  have  1,500  men  on  the  border  who  were 
ready  to  rush  to  the- assistance  of  Johannesburg  as  soon  as  the  insur- 
rection began,  the  arrival  of  his  force  would  produce  a  great  effect  both 
upon  the  conspirators  and  the  Boer  Government,  and  would  virtually 
force  the  latter  to  give  in  at  once  to  the  inevitable  and  render  justice 
to  the  Outlanders.  The  date  arranged  with  Dr.  Jameson  was  Saturday, 
January  the  4th,  and  it  was  planned  to  issue  public  announcements 
summoning  a  mass  meeting  for  Monday,  the  6th,  in  order  to  deceive 
the  authorities.  In  the  meantime  a  manifesto  was  issued  on  behalf  of 
the  Keformers  which  was  written  and  signed  by  their  chairman,  Mr. 
Charles  Leonard.  As  Mr.  Leonard,  a  former  member  of  the  Cape  Legis- 
lature, is  a  man  of  high  education  and  honorable  character  as  well  as 
great  eloquence,  and  his  manifesto  contains  a  frank  and  full  statement 
of  the  grievances  under  which  the  Outlanders  felt  themselves  to  be 


560  '  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

suffering,  and  of  the  reasons  which  led  them  to  form  their  conspiracy, 
and  inasmuch  as  this  document  was  composed,  first  of  all,  not  to  defend 
the  Reformers  before  the  world,  but  to  state  their  grievances  and  ex- 
plain their  motives  to  the  Transvaal  Government  itself,  it  is  necessary 
to  give  here  some  account  of  its  contents. 

Mr.  Leonard  says  that  the  constitution  of  the  National  Union,  as  the 
reform  association  was  called,  was  very  simple.  "They  set  three  objects 
before  them:  first  the  maintenance  of  the  independence  of  the  Republic, 
second  the  securing  of  equal  rights,  and  third  the  redress  of  grievances." 
The  Union  had  recently  made  various  attempts  at  improvement  of  the 
conditions  which  were  felt  to  be  so  oppressive.  They  had  been  deeply 
disappointed  that  in  the  recent  election  of  new  members  for  the  First 
Volksraad  the  progressive  party  had  received  no  great  increase  of 
strength.  They  had  recently  presented  a  petition  signed  by  38,000  per- 
sons which  sought  to  obtain  the  franchise.  As  the  result  of  the  petition 
they  were  called  unfaithful  for  not  naturalizing  themselves.  But 
naturalization  (which  included  the  taking  of  the  oath  after  two  years 
of  residence)  meant  only  that  they  should  give  up  their  original  citizen- 
ship and  get  nothing  in  return  except  liability  to  military  service  and 
other  disabilities.  One  member  of  the  Volksraad  had  openly  challenged 
the  petitioners  to  fight  for  their  rights,  and  no  one  in  the  house  had 
reproved  the  challenge.  This  was  the  sole  result  of  the  honest  endeavors 
of  the  Outlanders  to  secure  fair  legislation,  and  an  improvement  in  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  country.  Not  only  were  they  ex- 
cluded from  the  franchise,  but  even  their  children,  born  in  the  Trans- 
vaal, were  by  law  deprived  of  the  rights  of  citizenship  unless  their 
father  took  the  oath  of  allegiance.  The  taxation  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment was  open  to  severe  criticism  in  that  (a)  a  much  greater  amount 
was  levied  from  the  people  than  was  required  for  the  needs  of  govern- 
ment; (b)  it  was  either  class  taxation  pure  and  simple,  or  by  the  selec- 
tion of  subjects,  though  nominally  universal,  it  was  made  to  fall  upon 
the  shoulders  of  the  Outlanders;  (c)  the  necessaries  of  life  were  unduly 
burdened." 

In  the  midst  of  this  severe  criticism  of  the  Transvaal  Government 
a  tribute  is  paid  to  the  "small  band  of  enlightened  men  in  the  Volks- 
raad who  have  earnestly  condemned  the  policy  of  the  Government  and 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  561 

Warned  them  of  its  danger,"  but  President  Kruger  is  spoken  of  in  terms 
of  utmost  severity.  It  is  asserted  that  "there  was  no  true  responsibility 
to  the  people,  none  of  the  great  appointments  of  State  were  controlled 
by  Ministerial  officers  in  the  proper  sense,  the  President's  will  was  vir- 
jtually  supreme.  He  had  been  the  author  of  every  act  directed 
against  the  liberty  of  the  people.  It  was  well  that  President  Kruger 
should  be  known  for  what  he  is.  Contradiction  was  challenged  of  the 
statement  that  no  important  act  had  found  a  place  on  the  Statute  books 
during  the  last 'ten  years  without  the  stamp  of  President  Kruger's 
approval  upon  it;  nay,  he  was  the  father  of  every  such  act.  He  had 
expressly  supported  every  act  by  which  the  right  of  acquiring  the 
franchise  had  been  progress! vely  restricted,  by  which  taxation  had 
become  at  last  almost  confined  to  the  Outlanders,  and  by  which  the 
rights  of  the  Press  and  of  public  meetings  had  been  attacked." 

"The  judges  of  the  High  Court  had  been  the  sole  guardian  of  their 
liberty,  and  on  the  whole  did  their  work  ably,  but  they  were  under- 
paid, their  salaries  insecure,  and  the  most  undignified  treatment  had 
been  meted  out  to,  them  on  more  than  one  occasion.  Trial  by  jury  was, 
so  far  as  the  Outlanders  were  concerned,  an  unreality,  *ince  in  every 
case,  however  grievous,  they  could  be  tried  only  before  a  jury  of  Trans- 
vaal burghers."  The  manifesto  also  described  the  extraordinary  amount 
of  extravagance  and  corruption  which  characterized  the  administration 
whose  income  had  risen  within  recent  years  so  far  beyond  its  natural 
legitimate  expenditure.  In  this  connection  it  was  asserted  that  the 
public  credit  had  been  pledged  to  the  support  of  the  Netherlands  railway 
company,  that  enormous  sums  were  expended  in  ways  which  practically 
secured  them  for  foreigners,  who  had  come  from  Holland  to  become 
officials  of  the  Government.  It  is  asserted  that  the  presence  of  these 
Hollanders  had  angered  a  large  proportion  of  the  Boers  themselves; 
but  that  President  Kruger  and  his  party  stuck  obstinately  to  their  policy 
of  employing  Hollanders  for  those  departments  of  service  which  needed 
educated  experts,  and  made  them  their  special  pets.  Examples  are  given 
of  the  way  in  which  in  connection  with  railways,  customs,  and  govern- 
ment concessions  heavy  sums  of  money  were  extorted  from  the  public 
for  the  benefit  of  this  class  of  men.  The  manifesto  does  not  complain 
that  the  direct  taxation  of  the  mines  is  too  heavy,  but  that  the  indirect 


562  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

taxation,  imposed  through  the  excessive  charges  of  the  railway  com- 
panies and  the  excessive  custom  duties,  conferred  no  conceivable  benefit 
upon  the  community,  and  served  to  pass  large  sums  of  money  into  the 
pockets  of  officials  and  their  relatives.  No  well  audited  account  of  these 
sums  could  be  obtained  by  the  public.  The  most  monstrous  hardships 
it  is  alleged  result  to  consumers  through  the  trading  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment which  is  cleverly  described  as  "protection  without  production," 
since  it  was  not  intended  for  the  purpose  of  nurturing  manufacturing 
within  the  Transvaal.  The  Government  was  openly  accused  of  having 
twice  entered  into  competition  with  traders  who  had  paid  their  licence 
and  rents  before  that  competition  was  instituted.  On  one  occasion, 
when  grain  was  scarce,  the  Government  were  petitioned  to  suspend  the 
duties,  which  were  very  high,  in  order  that  the  laborers  on  the  mines 
might  be  fed.  The  Government  refused  on  the  ground  that  it  could  not 
suspend  duties  without  the  permission  of  the  Volksraad;  but  within  a 
few  days  it  was  found  that  the  Government  had  granted  a  concession 
to  one  favored  individual  to  import  grain  free  of  duty  and  to  sell  it  in 
competition  with  the  merchants  who  had  paid  duty.  The  story  of  the 
famous  and  notorious  dynamite  concession  is  also  openly  told.  In  brief, 
it  is  asserted  that  the  holders  of  the  monopoly  are  entitled  to  charge 
about  $18  a  case  for  dynamite,  while  if  there  were  no  concessions  it 
could  be  bought  for  $6.  One  member  of  the  Government  had  been  for 
years  challenged  to  deny  that  he  had  enjoyed  a  royalty  of  fifty  cents 
on  every  case  of  dynamite  sold,  and  the  challenge  has  never  been  taken 
up.  The  last  four  paragraphs  of  this  historic  manifesto  are  so  important 
in  their  revelation  of  the  experience  of  those  who  were  behind  the  re- 
form movement  that  they  must  be  given  word  for  word. 

"HATRED  OF  THE  SAXON. 

"There  is  no  disguising  the  fact  that  the  original  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment is  based  upon  intense  hostility  to  the  English-speaking  popu- 
lation, and  that  even  against  the  franchised  burgher  of  this  State  there 
is  the  determination  to  retain  all  power  in  the  hands  of  those  who  are 
enjoying  the  sweets  of  office  now,  and  naturally  the  grateful  crowd  of 
relations  and  friends  and  henchmen  ardently  support  the  existing 
regime;  but  there  are  unmistakable  signs,  and  the  President  fears  that 
the  policy  which  he  has  hitherto  adopted  will  not  be  sufficient  to  keep 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  g63 

in  check  the  growing  population.  It  seems  the  set  purpose  of  the  Gov- 
ernment to  repress  the  growth  of  the  industry,  to  tax  it  at  every  turn, 
to  prevent  the  working  classes  from  settling  here  and  making  their 
homes  and  surrounding  themselves  with  their  families;  and  there  is  no 
mistaking  the  significance  of  the  action  of  the  President  when  he 
]  opposed  the  throwing  open  of  the  town  lands  of  Pretoria  on  the  ground 
that  'he  might  have  a  second  Johannesburg  there/  nor  that  of  his  speech 
upon  the  motion  for  the  employment  of  diamond  drills  to  prospect  Gov- 
ernment lands,  which  he  opposed  hotly  on  the  ground  that  'there  is  too 
much  gold  here  already/ 

> 

"THE  POLICY  OF  FORCE. 

"We  now  have  openly  the  policy  of  force  revealed  to  us.  Two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  pounds  is  to  be  spent  upon  the  completion  of  a 
fort  at  Pretoria,  one  hundred  thousand  pounds  is  to  be  spent  upon  a  fort 
to  terrorize  the  inhabitants  of  Johannesburg,  large  orders  are  sent  to 
Krupp's  for  big  guns,  Maxims  have  been  ordered,  and  we  are  even  told 
that  German  officers  are  coming  out  to  drill  the  burghers.  Are  these 
things  necessary  or  are  they  calculated  to  irritate  the  feeling  to  breaking 
point?  What  necessity  is  there  for  forts  in  peaceful  inland  towns? 
Why  should  the  Government  endeavor  to  keep  us  in  subjection  to  unjust 
laws  by  the  power  of  the  sword  instead  of  making  themselves  live  in  the 
heart  of  the  people  by  a  broad  policy  of  justice?  What  can  be  said  of  a 
policy  which  deliberately  divides  the  two  great  sections  of  the  people 
from  each  other,  instead  of  uniting  them  under  equal  laws,  or  the  policy 
which  keeps  us  in  eternal  turmoil  with  the  neighboring  States?  What 
shall  be  said  of  the  statecraft,  every  act  of  which  sows  torments,  discon- 
tent, or  race  hatred,  and  reveals  a  conception  of  republicanism  under 
which  the  only  privilege  of  the  majority  of  the  people  is  to  provide  the 
revenue,  and  to  bear  insult,  while  only  those  are  considered  Republicans 
who  speak  a  certain  language,  and  in  greater  or  less  degree  share  the 
prejudices  of  the  ruling  classes? 

"A  STIRRING  PERORATION. 

"I  think  this  policy  can  never  succeed,  unless  men  are  absolutely 
bereft  of  every  quality  which  made  their  forefathers  free  men;  unless 
we  have  fallen  so  low  that  we  are  prepared  to  forget  honor,  self-respect, 
and  our  duty  to  our  children.  Once  more,  I  wish  to  state  again  in  un- 
mistakable language  what  has  been  so  frequently  stated  in  perfect  sin- 
cerity before,  that  we  desire  an  independent  republic,  which  shall  be  a 
true  republic,  in  which  every  man  who  is  prepared  to  take  the  oath  of 
allegiance  to  the  State  shall  have  equal  rights,  in  which  our  children 
shall  be  brought  up  side  by  side  as  united  members  of  a  strong  com- 


564  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

monwealth;   that  we  are  animated  by  no  race  hatred,  that  we  desire 
to  deprive  no  man,  be  his  nationality  what  it  may,  of  any  right. 

"THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  UNION. 

"We  have  now  only  two  questions  to  consider:  (a)  What  do  we  wrant? 
(b)  How  shall  we  get  it?  I  have  stated  plainly  what  our  grievances  are, 
and  I  shall  answer  with  equal  directness  the  question,  'What  do  we 
want?'  We  want:  (1)  The  establishment  of  this  Republic  as  a  true 
Republic;  (2)  a  Grondwet  or  Constitution  which  shall  be  framed  by 
competent  persons  selected  by  representatives  of  the  whole  people  and 
framed  on  lines  laid  down  by  them — a  Constitution  which  shall  be 
safeguarded  against  hasty  alteration;  (3)  an  equitable  franchise  law, 
and  fair  representation;  (4)  equality  of  the  Dutch  and  English  lan- 
guages; (5)  responsibility  of  the  Legislature  to  the  heads  of  the  great 
departments;  (6)  removal  of  religious  disabilities;  (7)  independence 
of  the  courts  of  justice,  with  adequate  and  secured  remuneration  of  the 
judges;  (8)  liberal  and  comprehensive  education;  (9)  efficient  civil  ser- 
vice, with  adequate  provision  for  pay  and  pension;  (10)  free  trade  for 
South  African  products.  That  is  what  we  want.  There  now  remains 
the  question  which  is  to  be  put  before  you  at  the  meeting  of  the  6th 
January,  viz.,  How  shall  we  get  it?  To  this  question  I  shall  expect 
from  you  an  answer  in  plain  terms  according  to  your  deliberate  judg- 
ment. 

"(Signed)  Charles  Leonard, 

"Chairman  of  the  Transvaal  National  Union." 

The  conspirators  at  Johannesburg  were  alarmed  toward  the  end  of 
December  from  two  directions.  From  the  opening  words  of  the  Man- 
ifesto it  is  evident  that  the  design  of  the  reformers  was  by  no  means 
to  bring  the  Transvaal  State  under  the  British  Government,  as  the 
secretary  of  the  Union  himself  has  insisted.  The  reform  party  in  Johan- 
nesburg included  not  only  enthusiastic  Britishers  but  men  of  other 
nationalities  and  of  other  sympathies,  and  they  could  only  work  together 
on  the  condition  that  they  did  not  seek  to  bring  the  Transvaal  under  the 
Queen.  The  objects  they  had  in  view  were  purely  remedial  legislature 
and  just  administration  within  the  Transvaal  itself.  "It  had  been  re- 
peatedly and  emphatically  stated  that  the  object  was  not  to  deprive  the 
Boers  of  their  independence,  or  the  State  of  its  autonomy,  but  to  alter 
the  system  of  government  in  such  a  way  as,  first  to  obtain  betterment 
of  the  economic  conditions  which  affected  everyone,  and  afterwards  to 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  565 

introduce  a  policy  more  in  accordance  with  the  general  .South  African 
sentiments."  (FitzPatrick.) 

During  the  concluding  weeks  of  preparation  various  sections  of  the 
Outlander  community  still  made  efforts  to  persuade  President  Kruger 
to  adopt  a  better  line  of  policy  towards  them.  On  one  occasion  he  was 
interviewed  by  men  who  are  described  as  not  "by  any  means  at  one  with 
the  reformers,  but  the  leading  members  of  which  still  urged  the  neces- 
sity for  reformation."  The  President,  addressing  them,  laid  down  this 
principle,  "Either  you  are  with  me  in  the  last  extremity  or  you  are  with 
the  enemy;  choose  which  course  you  will  adopt."  He  then  challenged 
them  to  call  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  of  repudiating  the  Manifesto, 
"Or,"  he  said,  "there  is  final  rupture  between  us."  His  interviewers 
declared  that  on  the  Manifesto  the  entire  city  of  Johannesburg  was 
absolutely  agreed,  and  the  President  significantly  replied,  "Then  I  shall 
know  how  to  deal  with  Johannesburg." 

In  America  much  interest  must  be  excited  by  the  fact  that  on  one 
of  the  last  days  of  the  year  1895,  President  Kruger  received  a  deputation 
of  Americans  from  Johannesburg.  They  are  described  by  the  secretary 
of  the  National  Union  as  men  of  the  highest  position  and  influence  in 
the  community.  They  believed  that  peaceful  measures  had  not  yet  been 
exhausted,  and  that  the  Government  must  surely  yield  if  confronted 
with  the  serious  consequences  that  would  inevitably  result  from  their 
policy  of  repression  and  oppression.  He  listened  to  all  that  they  ad- 
vanced and  then  told  them  that  "it  was  no  time  to  talk  when  danger 
was  at  hand, — that  was  the  time  for  action."  The  deputation  urged  that 
the  whole  danger  lay  in  the  President's  own  policy,  and  assured  him 
that  if  he  adopted  a  liberal  attitude  towards  them  the  people  of  Johan- 
nesburg would  prove  themselves  a  most  law-abiding  and  loyal  com- 
munity. The  President  answered  merely  by  the  question:  "If  a  crisis 
should  occur,  on  which  side  wTill  I  find  the  Americans?"  The  answer 
was,  "On  the  side  of  liberty  and  good  government,  always."  The  Presi- 
dent replied,  "You  are  all  alike,  tarred  with  the  same  brush;  you  are 
British  in  your  hearts." 

It  does  not  seem  to  have  occurred  to  the  reformers  to  make  this  a 
permanent  condition  of  their  relations  to  Mr.  Rhodes,  and  it  was  about 
Christmas  time  when  some  event  (Mr.  Stead  says  it  was  a  message 


566  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

directly  or  indirectly  from  Mr.  Chamberlain),  occurred,  which  alarmed 
the  reformers -and  compelled  them  to  send  representatives  to  Cape  Town 
to  protest  against  the  idea  that  the  revolution  was  to  be  brought  about 
under  the  British  flag.  While  these  messengers  were  away,  alarming 
news  came  from  the  direction  of  Dr.  Jameson,  who  had  gathered  with 
nearly  500  police  under  the  command  of  Sir  John  Willoughby  on  the 
western  border  of  the  Transvaal  at  Pitsani  and  Mafeking.  Dr.  Jameson 
seemed  to  be  in  haste,  and  to  be  threatening  an  invasion  before  he  had 
received  the  signal  from  Johannesburg.  Immediately  two  messengers 
were  sent  to  Dr.  Jameson  himself,  and  demands  made  upon  Mr.  Khodes 
that  he  should  communicate  with  Dr.  Jameson  in  order  to  prevent  any 
such  wild  and  fatal  movement.  Their  efforts  were  all  in  vain,  for  Dr. 
Jameson,  impelled  by  some  impulse  which  to  this  hour  is  inexplicable 
even  to  his  friends,  on  Sunday,  December  29,  started  for  Johannesburg. 
Before  starting  he  read  to  his  police  a  letter  which  had  been  put  into 
his  hands  weeks  before  by  the  leader^  of  the  movement  in  Johannesburg, 
but  which  he  represented  as  having  just  reached  him..  This  famous 
letter,  signed  by  five  men,  describes  in  the  first  part  the  wrongs  which 
the  Outlanders  felt  that  they  were  suffering,  and  sums  up  the  policy  of 
the  Transvaal  by  asserting  that  "every  public  aet  betrays  the  most  posi- 
tive hostility,  not  only  to  everything  English,  but  to  the  neighboring 
states."  It  goes  on  to  describe  the  failure  of  all  efforts  at  constitutional 
agitation,  and  asserts  that  the  policy  of  the  Government  had  made  an 
armed  complication  inevitable.  Then  it  goes  on  to  speak  as  follows: 
"What  we  have  to  consider  is,  what  will  be  the  condition  of  things  here 
in  the  event  of  a  complication?  Thousands  of  unarmed  men,  women  and 
children  will  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  well-armed  Boers,  while  property 
of  enormous  value  wTill  be  in  the  greatest  peril.  We  cannot  contemplate 
the  future  without  the  greatest  apprehension.  We  feel  that  we  are 
justified  in  taking  any  steps  to  prevent  the  shedding  of  blood,  and  to 
insure  the  protection  of  our  lives." 

"It  is  under  these  circumstances  that  we  feel  constrained  to  call 
upon  you  to  come  to  our  aid,  should  a  disturbance  arise  here."  They 
expressed  the  confidence  that  Dr.  Jameson  would  help,  and  guaranteed 
any  expense  that  he  might  incur  in  doing  so. 

Looked  at  in  the  light  of  after  events,  this  letter  seems  very  ridicu- 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  567 

lous,  and  Dr.  Jameson's  action  upon  it  unfaithful,  both  to  the  men  whom 
he  deceived  by  reading  it  and  to  the  men  who  had  given  it  to  him  on  a 
certain  understanding  which  he  was  about  to  ignore. 

The  two  forces  started  and  met  speedily  within  the  Transvaal  bor- 
ders. There  is  evidence  which  is  gradually  accumulating  that  the  Boer 
Government  were  not  without  knowledge  of  what  was  about  to  happen, 
and  the  rapidity  with  which  their  forces  were  gathered  and  the  skill 
with  wrhich  all  their  plans  were  carried  out  indicate  careful  forethought 
as  well  as  clever  execution.  Starting  on  the  evening  of  December  the 
29th  from  the  Pitsani  camp,  the  commander  met  the  other  column  next 
morning  at  the  village  of  Malmani.  The  combined  forces  numbered 
about  494  men.  The  smallness  of  the  number  constituted  another  breach 
of  his  contract  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Jameson,  inasmuch  as  the  agreement 
was  that  he  have  1,500  men,  and  many  had  expressed  dissatisfaction 
when  he  said  some  wTeeks  before  that  he  might  not  be  able  to  get  more 
than  1,000.  He  now  started  with  less  than  one-third  of  the  number 
originally  arranged  for.  From  Malmani  the  movements  of  this  extraor- 
dinary band  of  soldiers,  constituted  one  exciting  adventure  after  another. 
They  hurried  on  the  Monday  through  a  narrow  pass  at  the  Lead  Mines, 
and  learned  afterwards  that  only  three  hours  later  several  hundreds  of 
Boers  assembled  in  that  pass  who  would,  without  doubt,  have  been  able 
to  prevent  them  from  advancing  further.  Some  hours  later  Dr.  Jame- 
son received  a  letter  from  the  commandant-general  of  the  Transvaal, 
demanding  the  reasons  for  this  extraordinary  movement.  Dr.  Jame- 
son answered  in  terms  of  the  letter  which  he  had  read  to  the  force. 
On  the  next  day,  Tuesday,  the  31st,  a  mounted  messenger  overtook 
them  and  presented  a  letter  from  the  High  Commissioner  at  Cape 
Town,  ordering  Dr.  Jameson  and  Sir  John  Willoughby  to  return  at 
once  to  their  respective  posts.  They  declared  that  now  to  comply  with 
these  instructions  was  an  impossibility.  Their  horses  were  jaded; 
they  could  not  go  back  "over  the  road,  where  there  was  absolutely  no 
food  for  men  or  horses;  a  large  force  of  Boers  was  know^n  to  be  behind 
them,  who  would  attack  them,  and,  further,  they  presumed  that  by  this 
time  Johannesburg  had  risen  and  must  be  defended.  On  the  31st  they 
captured  a  lieutenant  of  the  Boer  volunteers,  who  was  released  at  Dr. 
Jameson's  request.  On  the  morning  of  New  Year's  Day  a  second  letter 


568  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

arrived  from  the  High  Commissioner,  which  also  failed  of  its  purpose. 
All  this  time  the  troop  was  pressing  forward  on  its  long  march  and 
striving  to  make  for  Kmgersdorp,  which  is  only  a  few  miles  out  from 
Johannesburg.  As  they  approached  this  place  they  discovered  that 
the  number  of  the  Boer  forces  opposed  to  them  was  rapidly  increas- 
ing. The  invaders  were  now  becoming  exhausted  from  lack  of  food 
and  sleep,  and  they  were  disappointed  in  one  place  after  another  to  find 
no  provisions.  The  raiders  had  until  now  avoided  any  offensive  attack 
upon  the  Boers,  but  found  themselves  forced  on  the  afternoon  of  New 
Year's  Day  to  open  fire  upon  those  who  defended  the  approach  to 
Krugersdorp.  An  attempt  to  outflank  the  enemy  on  the  left  was 
checked,  and  gradually  they  were  compelled  to  move  towards  the  right. 
This  was  exactly  wrhat  the  Boers  desired,  those  who  were  in  front  of 
them  and  on  the  left  thus  compelled  them  to  move  towards  a  certain 
point,  where  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  invaders  would  speed- 
ily be  rendered  impossible.  The  night  was  spent  by  them  in  great  weari- 
ness and  in  great  danger.  At  dawn  on  the  morning  of  January  2  the 
final  battle  began.  They  were  driven  even  further  into  the  trap  which 
had  been  cleverly  planned  for  them.  At  last  they  found  themselves 
in  a  hollow  through  which  the  road  led  round  a  hill.  The  hill  was  held 
by  the  Boer  forces,  who  now  practically  surrounded  the  entire  company 
of  raiders.  Seeing  at  last  that  further  resistance  was  hopeless,  and 
would  result  only  in  a  useless  spilling  of  blood,  Willoughby,  with  Jame- 
son's permission,  sent  word  to  the  commander,  Cronje,  that  he  would 
surrender  on  the  guarantee  of  a  safe  conduct  out  of  the  country  being 
given  to  every  member  of  the  force.  The  commander  replied  in  writing 
by  guaranteeing  the  lives  of  all,  provided  that  they  laid  down  their  arms 
and  paid  all  expenses. 

So  ended  one  of  the  most  foolish  and  one  of  the  most  disastrous  un- 
dertakings known  to  modern  history.  Dr.  Jameson  'and  the  British 
officers  who  acted  with  him  were  marched  with  their  men  to  Pretoria, 
a  band  of  disgraced  men,  who  had  invaded  a  foreign  territory  in  time 
of  peace  on  their  own  accord,  and  indeed  against  authoritative  instruc- 
tions from  all  to  whom  they  were  responsible,  or  with  whom  they  had 
to  do. 

One  need  not  pause  to  describe  the  excitement  which  was  felt 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  569 

throughout  the  world  at  this  extraordinary  fiasco.  All  Europe  and 
America  were  filled  with  indignation.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  it  is  true,  tele- 
graphed immediately  to  Pretoria  repudiating  the  raiders  and  disown- 
ing any  responsibility  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  for  their  action;  and 
the  High  Commissioner  at  the  Cape  immediately  set  himself  with  great 
energy  to  make  what  reparation  was  possible  to  the  injured  State. 
Mr.  Rhodes,  it  is  said,  was  crushed  for  a  time  by  the  blow,  able  only  to 
moan  that  his  friend  Jameson  had  ruined  him.  To  add  to  the  compli- 
cations the  German  Emperor  sent  his  famous  telegram  of  sympathy 
io  President  Kruger,  and  this  action  more  than  anything  else  caused 
the  recoil  in  England.  There,  to  start  with,  amazement  and  anger  were 
predominant  at  Dr.  Jameson's  action,  but  these  feelings  were  speedily 
revised  when  that  telegram  was  published,  and  Dr.  Jameson  gradually 
became  the  hero  of  a  certain  "jingo"  section  of  the  public  in  England. 

After  the  raid  had  taken  place  it  could  be  said  that  no  one  con- 
cerned in  the  whole  of  the  events  was  in  the  right;  but  for  the  world 
at  large  Dr.  Jameson  had  put  Great  Britain  very  much  in  the  wrong, 
and  made  President  Kruger  and  his  government  stand  as  the  insulted 
and  injured  party.  Up  to  that  time  no  one  could  have  been  found  who 
would  have  seriously  defended  the  policy  of  the  Boer  Government. 
Beyond  all  doubt  President  Kruger  and  his  clique  of  advisers  from 
Holland  had  been  carrying  out  a  policy  which  no  citizen  of  a  free  and 
democratic  country  could  possibly  approve.  This  policy  had  avowedly 
injured  all  of  the  Outlanders  except  those  groups  of  Outlanders  who 
came  from  Holland  and  who  were  appointed  to  official  positions  or  re- 
ceived Government  concessions.  It  must  be  clearly  understood  that 
while  accusations  are  made,  of  a  more  or  less  indefinite  kind,  of  corrup- 
tion against  President  Kruger  and  members  of  his  Government,  it  is 
the  Hollanders,  brought  to  the  Transvaal  during  the  years  of  its  pros- 
perity, who  obtained  much  influence  as  advisers  of  Kruger,  and  who 
themselves  received  enormous  pecuniary  profits  from  the  policy  which 
they  induced  him  to  adopt. 

If  the  attempts  to  overthrow  the  oligarchy  at  Pretoria,  consisting  as 
it  did  of  narrow-minded  patriots  and  foreign  mercenaries,  had  pro- 
ceeded from  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg  and  had  been  carried  through 
by  them  under  the  flag  of  the  country,  the  world  would,  beyond  doubt, 


570  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

have  seen  once  more  that  they  were  fighting  the  old  battle  for  free- 
dom, which  in  ancient  times  was  fought  in  Holland  and  England,  and 
during  the  last  century  in  America.  The  advanced  peoples  of  the  world 
would  have  said  that  it  served  Kruger  right  for  attempting  to  rule  his 
country  in  the  nineteenth  century  on  antiquated  principles,  which  no 
modern  citizen  can  defend. 

But  now,  Dr.  Jameson  had  attacked  the  country  from  without,  himself 
being  a  foreigner  and  a  British  citizen,  had  attempted  to  overthrow 
the  Government  of  the  Transvaal,  there  being  at  the  time  no  actual  in- 
surrection or  disturbance  in  that  country.  The  right  now  and  at  that 
point  was  on  the  side  of  Mr.  Kruger.  Inasmuch  as  the  world  immedi- 
ately judged  that  the  British  Government  must  have  had  a  hand  in  the 
matter  this  sympathy  was  of  course  deepened,  and  resentment  against 
the  brutal  Briton  was  aroused. 

It  only  remained  for  President  Kruger  and  his  Holland  advisers,  of 
whom  at  that  time  Dr.  Leyds  was  chief,  to  recognize  the  real  limits  of 
this  foreign  sympathy  and  to  shape  his  policy  so  as  to  retain  it  perma- 
nently by  deserving  it.  The  world  would  judge  him  by  the  policy  he 
adopted  alike  toward  the  raiders  from  without  and  the  would-be  reform- 
ers within  his  country.  No  less  closely  would  his  treatment  of  the  Out- 
landers  be  considered  in  the  light  of  these  events.  President  Kruger 
proceeded  to  act  with  a  shrewdness  and  determination  which  elicited  the 
admiration  as  well  as  the  disapproval  even  of  those  who  became  the 
victims  of  his  policy.  Says  one  of  them:  "In  reviewing  the  whole  of  the 
circumstances  of  the  raid,  not  the  most  biased  and  most  interested  of 
persons  can  withhold  a  tribute  of  admiration  to  the  President's  pres- 
ence of  mind,  skill  and  courage  in  dealing  with  circumstances  already 
without  precedent;  and  in  quiet  moments,  when  recalling  all  that  has 
happened,  if  human  at  all,  His  Honor  must,  indulge  in  a  chuckle  now 
and  then,  to  think  how  completely  he  jockeyed  everybody." 

First  let  us  see  how  he  dealt  with  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg.  The 
difficult  matter  here  was  to  obtain  possession  of  distinct  evidence  con- 
cerning the  individuals  who  were  leaders  in  the  attempted  rebellion. 
Many  of  these  men  were  generally  known  to  be  leaders  of  reform,  but 
incriminating  material  had  not  yet  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Boers. 
They  had  indeed,  as  it  turned  out,  found  a  dispatch  box  belonging  to 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  571 

one  of  the  officers  of  Dr.  Jameson's  force,  which  he  had  most  foolishly 
and  inexplicably  carried  with  him  on  the  raid.  This  box  contained  a 
copy  of  the  famous  letter  to  Dr.  Jameson,  and  other  documents,  besides 
telegrams  and  letters  which  revealed  the  whole  story  to  President 
Kruger.  But  still  only  a  few  names  of  Johannesburg  citizens  were  in 
this  way  incriminated.  A  Government  commission  was  appointed  con- 
sisting of  two  judges  and  a  member  of  the  executive,  who  met  with  the 
leaders  of  the  committee  in  order  to  discuss  the  way  out  of  the  compli- 
cations in  which  they  found  themselves.  Mr.  Lionel  Phillips  was 
spokesman  for  the  reformers,  and  he,  after  understanding  that  the  ne- 
gotiations were  carried  on  in  good  faith  and  with  a  view  to  peace,  de- 
scribed their  plans  in  full.  The  member  of  the  executive  at  a  certain 
point  urged  that  they  had  no  proof  that  the  movement  was  one  gener- 
ally approved  by  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg,  as  they  only  knew  the 
names  of  a  few  of  the  leaders.  In  order  to  prove  to  him  that  the  move- 
ment was  a  popular  one,  in  which  a  large  proportion  of  the  citizens  were 
personally  responsible,  Mr.  Phillips  agreed  to  give  a  full  list  of  those 
who  had  been  active  in  the  matter.  The  list  which  was  obtained  in 
this  way  was  the  only  basis  upon  which  the  Government  were  able  to 
proceed  in  the  indictment  of  individuals.  The  list  was  ultimately  made 
up  of  sixty-four  names.  In  order  to  show  how  widespread  was  the  in- 
terest it  is  important  to  note  that  among  these  sixty-four  who  were 
convicted  twenty-three  were  Englishmen,  sixteen  were  South  Africans, 
nine  were  Scotchmen,  six  Americans,  two  Welshmen,  one  Irishman, 
one  Australian,  one  Hollander,  one  Bavarian,  one  German,  one  Cana- 
dian, one  Swiss  and  one  Turk.  It  afterwards  appeared  that  those  who 
were  most  stubborn  in  their  opposition  to  the  Government  were  the 
men  of  South  African  birth,  who  considered  that  in  being  treated  as 
they  had  been  in  South  Africa  itself  they  had  been  in  a  sense  robbed 
of  their  birthright.  The  indictment  consisted  of  four  counts,  of  which 
the  first  was  the  most  important.  It  asserted  that  "all  and  each  or  one 
or  more  of  them  (the  accused)  wrongfully,  unlawfully  and  with  a  hostile 
intention  to  disturb,  injure  or  bring  into  danger  the  independence  or 
the  safety  of  the  Kepublic,  treated,  conspired,  agreed  with  and  urged 
Leander  Starr  Jameson,  an  alien^  residing  without  the  boundaries  of 
this  Kepublic,  to  come  into  the  territory  of  this  Kepublic  at  the  head 


572  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

of  and  with  armed  and  hostile  troops,  there  to  make  a  hostile  invasion 
and  to  march  through  to  Johannesburg  aforesaid."  In  the  second 
count  they  were  accused  of  actively  assisting  Dr.  Jameson  during  the 
invasion  and  attempting  to  arouse  the  people  to  stand  by  him.  The 
third  count  accused  them  of  importing  and  distributing  weapons  and 
ammunition  and  in  organizing  a  military  corps.  The  fourth  accused 
them  of  having  taken  in  hand  the  government  of  Johannesburg  as  they 
had  actually  done  during  the  days  of  the  disturbance. 

After  much  consideration  it  was  finally  agreed  that  the  four  leaders 
only  should  be  asked  to  plead  guilty  of  the  first  count,  while  the  re- 
mainder of  the  prisoners  should  plead  guilty  to  the  less  important  ac- 
cusations. These  four  leaders  were  Colonel  Francis  Ehodes,  Messrs. 
Lionel  Phillips,  George  Farrar  and  John  Hays  Hammond.  At  the  time 
tnat  it  was  decided  that  these  four  should  plead  guilty  to  the  first  of 
the  counts  in  the  indictment,  it  had  not  been  decided  whether  they  were 
to  be  tried  under  statute  law,  which  allowed  alternative  penalties  for 
their  crime,  or  Roman-Dutch  law,  which  only  allows  of  capital  punish- 
ment. After  they  had  pled  guilty  the  judge,  a  Mr.  Gregorowski,  who 
had  been  imported  for  the  occasion  from  the  Orange  Free  State,  decided 
to  bring  their  case  under  Roman-Dutch  law,  and  passed  sentence  of 
death  upon  those  four  men,  Mr.  Hammond,  the  American,  receiving 
his  sentence  last  of  all.  The  other  prisoners  Were  condemned  to  suffer 
two  years  of  imprisonment,  or  to  pay  a  fine  of  £2,000  (about  $10,000) 
each,  and  thereafter  to  be  banished  from  the  state  for  three  years. 
Much  criticism  has  been  made  upon  the  judge  for  allowing  the  men  to 
plead  before  they  knew  the  law  under  which  they  were  to  be  tried,  as 
also  for  accepting  a  plea  of  guilty  to  a  charge  involving  capital  punish- 
ment contrary  to  the  universal  practice  of  all  law  courts  in  South 
Africa.  The  ensuing  scene  has  been  described  by  one  of  the  partici- 
pants as  follows: 

"The  bearing  of  the  four  men  won  for  them  universal  sympathy 
and  approval,  especially  under  the  conditions  immediately  following 
the  death  sentence,  when  a  most  painful  scene  took  place  in  court.  Evi- 
dences of  feeling  came  from  all  parts  of  the  room  and  from  all  classes 
of  people;  from  those  who  conducted  the  defence  and  from  the  Boers 
who  were  to  have  constituted  the  jury.  The  interpreter  translating 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID.  573 

the  sentence  broke  down.     Many  of  the  minor  officials  lost  control  of 
themselves,  and  feelings  were  further  strained  by  the  incident  of  one 

• 

man  falling  insensible." 

At  the  end  of  twenty-four  hours  it  was  announced  to  the  prisoners 
that  the  death  sentence  would  be  commuted  by  the  clemency  of  the 
President. 

Various  accounts  have  been  given  of  the  painful  days  that  followed 
when  the  prisoners  were  kept  shut  up  under  disgraceful  sanitary  con- 
ditions, uncertain  as  to  the  fate  that  actually  lay  before  them.  Nego- 
tiations were  opened  first  by  the  Government,  and  the  conduct  of  these 
negotiations  if  they  occurred  as  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt,  as  Mr.  Fitz- 
patrick  has  described  them,  ten'd  to  show  that  the  poor  President  was 
striving  on  the  one  hand  to  humiliate  the  prisoners,  and  on  the  other  to 
stand  in  an  attitude  of  magnanimity  before  the  world  at  large.  The 
efforts  to  make  the  prisoners  sign  petitions  were  repeated,  and  in  the 
meantime  their  treatment  was  intended  to  make,  .prison  life  as  hateful 
as  possible  that  they  might  adopt  any  means  of  escape  from  it.  Two 
of  the  men  stood  out,  absolutely  refusing  to  sign  even  the  most  mod- 
erate petition,  and  they  were  compelled  to  serve  their  full  term  of  im- 
prisonment. The  others  obtained  release  upon  payment  of  their 
fines,  but  it  is  alleged  that  their  release  came  only  after  President 
Kruger  found  that  his  treatment  of  them  was  rousing  all  South  Africa 
against  him,  and  that  even  his  fellow  Dutchmen  in  Cape  Colony  and 
the  Orange  Free  State  were  in  large  numbers  angered  at  his  policy. 
In  fact  resolutions  were  passed  in  more  than  two  hundred  towns  in 
South  Africa,  including"  many  towns  in  the  Orange  Free  State,  in  criti- 
cism of  Kruger's  attitude,  and  the  mayors  of  these  towns  began  flocking 
to  Pretoria  to  enter  their  protest  in  person.  It  was  not  for  some  time 
after  these  protests  began  to  arrive  that  President  Kruger  dealt  with 
the  case  of  the  four  men  who  had  been  sentenced  to  death  (negotiations 
were  opened  to  see  what  they  would  propose),  the  prisoners  were  made 
to  understand  that  the  offer  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  would  prob- 
ably obtain  their  release,  and  after  much  hesitation  and  dislike  of  the 
proceeding,  they  agreed  to  offer  £10,000  (about  f 50,000)  apiece.  The 
President  and  his  advisers  thought  that  some  mistake  must  have  been 
made  and  that  instead  of  |200,000  for  the  four  they  must  have  meant 


574  THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAMESON  RAID. 

$200,000  from  each.  The  matter  was  finally  referred  to  the  judge  who 
had  passed  the  death  sentence,  and  he  determined  that  instead  of  death 
these  men  should  pay  £25,000  ($125,000)  per  head.  The  prisoners,  in 
agreeing  to  this,  stated  in  plain  terms  that  they  looked  upon  it  as  a  sim- 
ple bargain;  that  they  were  not  accepting  any  favor,  but  paying  their 
way  out  of  prison.  On  June  llth,  after  about  six  weeks  of  imprison- 
ment, the  fines  were  paid  and  the  prisoners  were  released.  All  the  pris- 
oners were  bound  by  a  promise  that  they  would  not  meddle  in  politics 
for  at  least  three  years. 

Out  of  the  Johannesburgers,  it  appears  then,  that  the  Government 
of  the  Transvaal  received  the  sum  of  £212,000  (about  $1,060,000)  in  fines 
for  their  attempted  revolution. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE    COLONIAL    OFFICE    AND    THE    RAID. 

WE  HAVE  already  seen  that  The  Raid  in  the  earlier  stages 
of  the  plot  which  Dr.  Jameson  brought  to  an  unexpected 
and  ignominious  conclusion,  Mr.  Chamberlain,  the  Colonial1 
Secretary  in  London,  had  been  more  or  less  definitely  consulted.  So 
far  as  he  seems  to  have  known  and  approved  of  it,  it  consisted  simply 
in  this,  that  since  the  Jbhannesburgers  were  determined  to  create 
a  revolution  and  fight  for  their  rights,  even  as  a  member  of 
the  Volksraad  had  actually  challenged  them  to  do,  it  would  be 
not  unfitting  that  a  force  belonging,  not  to  the  -British  Gov- 
ernment directly,  but  under  the  control  of  the  rulers  of  Rhodesia,  should 
be  ready  to  go  to  the  assistance  of  those  citizens  when  requested  to  do 
so.  In  fairness  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  it  should  be  understood  clearly  that 
at  the  very  time  when  these  negotiations  were  on  foot  he  was  already 
engaged  in  a  very  serious  controversy  writh  the  Transvaal  Government 
on  another  matter.  We  have  seen  that  a  railway  company  owned  by 
Hollanders  had  obtained  almost  entire  control  over  the  financial  system 
of  the  Transvaal.  Their  power  in  fixing  freight  charges  over  the  three 
main  lines  was  unrestricted  by  any  law.  It  was  part  of  their  policy 
to  develop  the  trade  which  brought  goods  over  the  longest  lines,  namely 
those  from  Natal  and  Delagoa  Bay.  They  proceeded  accordingly  to  raise 
the  freight  charges  on  the  railway  which  brought  goods  from  Cape 
Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State.  So  far  did  they  carry  this  discrim- 
ination as  to  charge  8^d  (17  cents)  per  ton  per  mile  on  the  Cape  Colony 
Free  State  line  from  the  Vaal  River  to  Johannesburg,  a  distance  of 
only  fifty  miles,  as  against  a  rate  of  about  3d.  (6  cents)  charged  on  the 
otner  two  lines.  "In  addition  to  this  they  threw  all  kinds  of  obstructions 
in  the  way  of  traffic  conducted  over  the  first-named  or  Southern  line. 
The  Cape  Colony  and  Orange  Free  State  traders  adopted  a  plan  of  un- 
loading the  train  where  it  crossed  the  Vaal  River,  placing  the  goods  on 
wagons  and  carrying  them  over  the  remainder  of  the  journey  by  road. 

575 


576  THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE  AND  THE  RAID. 

For  this  purpose  they  employed  "drifts"  or  fords,  which  had  been  long 
in  use  and  which  only  the  growth  of  the  railway  system  threatened  to 
bring  into  disuse.  President  Kruger,  urged  by  the  Holland  Outlanders 
with  whom  he  was  working,  resolved  to  close  these  drifts,  but  was  sud- 
denly confronted  by  the  fact  that  he  could  only  do  so  by  breaking  one 
of  the  articles  of  the  London  Convention. 

The  Dutch  traders  in  the  southern  states  were  themselves  aroused 
against  Kruger,  but  especially  against  the  Hollanders  who  were  his 
advisers,  and  who  as  a  class  were  no  more  beloved  by  the  ordinary 
Boers  in  the  Transvaal  or  anywhere  else  than  the  Outlanders  in  general. 
When  the  drifts  were  closed,  Dutch  anger  in  the  Colony  and  Free  State 
was  very  bitter.  So  bitter  was  it,  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  actually  sent 
the  Transvaal  Government  an  ultimatum.  President  Kruger,  of  course, 
gave  in,  when  he  found  that  he  had  gone  against  the  sympathy  of  his 
Dutch  coadjutors  in  the  south. 

Now,  it  was  at  this  very  time  that  Mr.  Ehodes's  proposals  were 
made  to  Mr.  Chamberlain.  His  position  then  was  this,  that  the 
Transvaal  had  striven  in  this  instance  to  break  an  explicit  article 
of  the  Convention  of  1884,  as  in  relation  to  the  Outlanders  they 
were  defying  the  spirit  of  both  Conventions  as  well  as  promises  made 
outside  the  Conventions.  While  dealing  with  these  matters,  it  was  to 
his  own  official  interest  rather  to  favor  than  to  hinder  a  movement  at 
Johannesburg  which  would  help  to  bring  a  solution  to  all  these  prob- 
lems. If  it  was  likely  to  encourage  the  movement  at  Johannesburg  he 
seems  to  have  felt  that  it  would  not  be  very  wrong  to  wink  at  the  pro- 
posals regarding  Dr.  Jameson. 

But  as  soon  as  the  Raid  took  place  in  the  wild  and  wicked  form  which 
Dr.  Jameson  gave  to  it,  it  became  evident  that  that  was  neither  what 
Mr.  Rhodes  had  proposed,  nor  he,  Mr.  Chamberlain,  had  approved. 
Therefore  on  receipt  of  the  news  he  immediately  telegraphed  to  the  High 
Commissioner,  to  President  Kruger,  to  Dr.  Jameson,  that  the  Raid  was 
repudiated  by  the  British  Government.  It  is  certain  that  he  had  kept  the 
knowledge  of  his  plans  within  a  very  small  circle  in  London,  and  above 
all  that  he  had  not  divulged  them  to  his  Queen.  When,  therefore,  it 
became  known  that  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  companions  were  being  sent 
home  for  trial  in  London,  when  it  became  clear  that  the  House  of  Com- 


THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE  AND  THE  RAID.  577 

mons  must  appoint  a  committee  to  investigate  the  whole  affair,  what 
attitude  was  Mr.  Chamberlain  to  assume?  It  was  one  of  th'e  most  trying 
positions  in  which  any  public  man  has  ever  been  placed,  one  in  which 
it  needed  the  clearest  conscience  and  the  purest  heart  as  well  as  the 
firmest  will  to  guide  a  man  unerringly.  He  had  many  things  to  con- 
sider. There  was  the  credit  of  his  Sovereign,  who,  it  is  understood,  had 
given  her  word  that  her  Government  had  not  planned  the  Jameson  Raid; 
there  was  the  honor  of  a  British  statesman  to  maintain,  of  whom  it  is 
generally  understood  that  whether  his  policy  be  clever  or  not,  it  shall 
not  be  mean  and  shall  not  break  international  law ;  there  was  the  stand- 
ing of  his  party  to  consider  and  the  effect  which  might  be  produced 
upon  its  fortunes,  if  the  whole  story  were  made  public;  there  were  the 
interests  of  many  prominent  officials  at  stake  whose  tenure  'of  office 
would  undoubtedly  be  rendered  impossible  by  the  publication  of  the  full 
truth;  and,  lastly,  let  us  hope  in  his  own  mind  least  of  all,  there  wras 
his  own  career  to  consider,  the  career  of  one  of  the  most  ambitious  and 
forceful  statesmen  of  recent  British  history.  What  was  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain to  do? 

The  House  of  Commons  appointed  its  Committee  in  the  summer  of 
1896.  It  did  not  begin  its  work  until  the  beginning  of  February,  1897, 
inasmuch  as  many  of  the  individuals  who  were  to  be  examined  and  most 
of  the  material  to  be  dealt  with  were  in  South  Africa  and  preliminary 
arrangements  were  necessary.  The  Committee  consisted  of  fifteen  mem- 
bers, fncluding  nine  on  the  Government,  that  is,  the  Conservative  side, 
and  six  from  the  side  of  the  Liberals.  It  held  twenty-nine  sittings,  at 
which  it  examined  witnesses  and  then  proceeded  to  make  its  report, 
which  was  finally  approved  on  July  13th,  1897.  Mr.  Chamberlain  had 
made  the  fatal  resolve  which  rendered  the  investigations  of  the  com- 
mittee practically  of  no  effect.  He  in  no  way  assisted  the  committee 
to  obtain  the  really  important  material;  he  did  not  enter  the  witness 
box  except  on  two  occasions  for  a  few  moments  to  weaken  some  dam- 
aging evidence  given  by  certain  witnesses;  he  contented  himself  with 
the  public  affirmation  he  had  made  that  he  neither  knew  of  nor  approved 
the  Jameson  Raid.  Mr.  Rhodes  was  in  the  witness  box  for  five  days  and 
a  half,  and  we  are  told  that  he  answered  2,126  questions.  All  these 
answers  were  rendered  practically  valueless  by  the  fact  that  when  any 


578  THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE  AND  THE  RAID. 

question  was  put  the  true  answers  to  which  would  incriminate  Mr. 
Chamberlain,  Mr.  Rhodes  simply  declined  to  answer.  He  refused  to 
commit  perjury  by  lying,  he  refused  also  to  betray  the  Colonial  Secre- 
t&ry  by  telling  the  truth.  Mr.  Chamberlain  could,  of  course,  satisfy  his 
conscience  by  saying  that  he  did  not  know  what  Dr.  Jameson  intended  to 
do  and  never  would  have  approved  of  what  he  did  do.  The  actual  Raid 
in  the  time  and  circumstances  of  its  actual  accomplishment  was  a 
matter  which  he  could  with  a  clear  conscience  repudiate.  But  beyond 
all  doubt  his  silence  meant  much  more;  it  meant  the  concealment  of  the 
fact  that  the  plan  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Dr.  Jameson  and  the  Johannes- 
burg citizens  had  been  known  to  him  and  had  not  received  his  condem- 
nation and  disapproval.  Nothing  can  ever  be  said  which  can  clear  Mr. 
Chamberlain  from  the  severe  blame  of  those  who  hold  that  he  ought 
not  to  have  approved  of  the  plan  in  the  first  instance,  and  that  he  ought 
to  have  confessed  his  complicity  in  the  crucial  hour  which  came  to  him. 
There  were  various  facts  in  the  case  which  rendered  the  work  of  the 
Committee  of  investigation  not  only  exceedingly  delicate  but  very  diffi- 
cult. In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Chamberlain  himself  was  on  the  Committee. 
It  was  undoubtedly  a  matter  of  form  that  when  any  serious  occurrence 
took  place  in  the  Department  of  the  Colonies  the  Colonial  Secretary 
should  be  the  leading  investigator  of  the  trouble.  But  while  official 
traditions  and  order  demanded  his  presence  on  this  committee,  Mr. 
Chamberlain  undoubtedly  ought  to  have  refused  to  act.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  controversy  regarding  the  Raid  he  stood  in  the  position 
of  an  accused  party,  and,  indeed,  that  which  was  the  most  serious  ele- 
ment in  the  whole  case  for  the  British  Government,  was  the  extent  of 
the  alleged  complicity  of  the  Colonial  Office  in  the  plot  which  Dr.  Jame- 
son crushed.  The  other  members  of  the  committee  representing  the 
Conservative  party  were  unlikely  to  push  beyond  the  lead  which  would 
be  given  them  by  Mr.  Chamberlain  himself.  Representing  the  Liberals 
there  were  some  very  strong  men  on  the  committee,  including  Sir 
William  Harcourt  and  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman.  The  former 
is  a  trained  and  most  astute  lawyer,  thoroughly  versed  in  the  arts  of 
gathering  evidence  and  examining  witnesses;  and  the  latter  is  noted 
for  the  shrewdness  of  his  mind  and  the  independence  of  his  judgment. 
Besides  these,  the  Liberals  were  represented  by  the  redoubtable  Mr. 


THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE  AND  THE  RAID.  579 

Henry  Labouchere.  He  lias  had  much  experience  in  ferreting  out  the 
truth  concerning  many  questionable  enterprises  in  England  and  else- 
where. He  has  from  the  first  most  bitterly  opposed  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany and  denounced  the  whole  policy  and  spirit  of  Mr.  Rhodes.  Neither 
is  he  a  lover  of  Mr.  Chamberlain.  But  Mr.  Labouchere  lacks  breadth 
of  mind  and  statesmanship,  and  so  largely  did  Mr.  Rhodes  bulk  in  his 
view  that  he  did  not  see  clearly,  at  the  time,  what  the  real  and  deepest 
problem  before  the  w^orld  was. 

The  consequence  of  all  these  and  other  circumstances  was  that  the 
Committee  spent  almost  its  entire  time  in  investigating  most  minutely 
and  thoroughly  the  actual  events  connected  with  the  Raid  itself,  and 
the  connections  therewith  of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  his  friends.  The  committee 
did  not  get  the  length  of  probing  the  deepest  question,  that  regarding 
the  complicity  of  the  Colonial  Office.  If  this  had  been  merely  an  over- 
sight the  Committee  would  not  have  received  the  disapproval  which 
now  hangs  over  its  name.  Unfortunately  there  seems  to  be  evidence  that 
at  last  the  leaders  on  both  sides  were  driven  to  face  the  worst,  and  they 
collapsed.  There  was  one  man  whose  evidence  would  almost  certainly 
have  brought  the  truth  to  light  inasmuch  as  he  had  acted  as  an  inter- 
mediary in  the  negotiations.  This  was  Mr.  Rhodes's  London  lawyer,  Mr. 
Hawkesley.  When  he  came  to  the  witness  box  it  was  evident  that  he 
neither  desired,  like  Mr.  Chamberlain,  to  hide  the  whole  story,  nor  had 
Mr.  Rhodes's  reasons  of  a  personal  nature  for  refusing  to  answer  the 
incriminating  questions.  Only  a  few  questions  were  put  to  him,  when 
suddenly  a  motion  for  adjournment  was  made  and  immediately  carried. 

What  happened  before  the  committee  reassembled  in  the  following 
week  no  one  knows.  There  are  strong  grounds  for  believing  that  the 
leaders  of  the  Liberal  party  were  told  of  some  fact  which  closed  their 
mouths,  and  made  them  acquiesce  in  an  immediate  and  hurried  stoppage 
of  the  investigations.  Various  surmises  have  been  made  as  to  what  this 
fact  was.  The  most  commonly  accepted  and  most  probable  suggestion 
is  that  they  were  informed  that  the  telling  of  the  whole  story  would 
bring  a  stain  upon  the  honor  of  the  Crown.  Not  that  any  member  of 
the  Royal  family  was  involved  in  the  plot  or  knew  of  it,  but  that  the 
highest  Royal  guarantee  had  been  given  that  the  British  Government 
was  not  involved  in  this  guilt.  Whether  this  is  so  or  not  it  would  seem 


580  THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE.AND  THE  RAID. 

that  some  feeling  of  loyalty  to  some  interest  which  they  considered 
supreme  sealed  the  lips  even  of  the  leaders  of  the  Opposition. 

When  the  committee  drew  up  its  report  it  had  done  a  great  deal 
of  real  and  valuable  work,  and  on  that  it  based  its  judgment. 
The  Raid  was  unequivocally  repudiated.  Most  of  all  did  it  con- 
demn the  conduct  of  Mr.  Rhodes;  in  terms  of  the  utmost  sever-, 
ity  was  his  share  in  the  plot  described  and  denounced;  all  others 
were  likewise  condemned  who  had  been  associated  with  the  plot  as 
British  subjects  and  officers.  But  a  remarkable  event  occurred  when 
this  report  was  presented  to  the  House  of  Commons.  There  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain made  a  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  uttered  the  astounding 
statement  that  Mr.  Rhodes's  personal  honor  had  not  been  aspersed  by 
the  findings  of  the  Committee.  There  were  private  members  of  the 
House  who,  though  puzzled,  were  prepared  to  follow  the  lead  of  those 
whom  they  trusted  as  the  heads  of  their  respective  parties,  but  whose 
minds  utterly  refused  to  accept  both  the  findings  of  the  committee  con- 
cerning Mr.  Rhodes  and  Mr.  Chamberlain's  astounding  and  virtual  with- 
drawal of  those  findings  in  his  speech.  One  of  them  (Mr.  Albert  Spicer) 
rose  and  put  the  dilemma,  which  was  present  to  many  minds,  clearly 
and  tersely  before  the  House.  The  effect  of  this  and  many  other  pro- 
tests was  to  produce  a  strange  silence  among  the  leaders  of  both  sides 
and  the  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted  by  the  House,  the  large 
majority  of  whom  felt  that  they  were  voting  in  the  dark  upon  a  ques- 
tion on  which  they  longed  to  have  full  light. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  has  since  those  events  occupied  what  is  in  the 
minds  of  the  country  at  large  an  uncertain,  and  must  be  to  his  own 
mind  an  uncomfortable,  position.  He  has  on  many  occasions  denounced 
the  Jameson  Raid  and  laid  the  blame  of  succeeding  complications  with 
the  Transvaal  upon  that  event.  In  answer  to  all  challenges  he  has 
simply  denied  that  he  knew  of  or  approved  of  the  Raid,  which  is  true 
in  the  sense  described  on  an  earlier  page.  But  when  challenged  to  pro- 
duce certain  documents  which  would  tell  the  truth,  he  has  within  the 
last  few  months  declined  to  do  so  on  the  ground  that  his  challengers 
were  not  men  who  had  a  right  to  make  such  a  demand,  and  he  has  had 
the  courage,  if  not  rather  the  bravado,  to  hand  the  challenge  over  to 
Sir  William  Harcourt  and  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman,  saying  that 


THE  COLONIAL  OFFICE  AND  THE  RAID.  581 

if  they  as  leaders  of  the  Opposition  make  this  demand  he  will  produce 
the  documents  referred  to.  Mr.  Chamberlain  did  this  knowing  full  well 
that  these  two  leaders  were  already  pledged  by  their  previous  acts  not 
to  betray  him  by  any  such  act. 

Great  Britain  has  yet  to  reckon  with  Mr.  Chamberlain's  whole  con- 
duct of  tii8  relations  of  his  country  to  the  Transvaal,  since  the  time 
when  he  first  heard  of  the  proposed  revolution  at  Johannesburg.  If  he 
had  openly  avowed  his  knowledge  of  the  conspiracy  and  publicly  stated 
the  reasons  for  the  steps  which  he  had  taken  he  might  have  lost  his 
present  office,  but  he  would  have  retained  the  honor  and  trust  of  large 
sections  of  the  public.  If  he  had  done  so,  his  successor  in  the  Colonial 
Office  could  have  dealt  with  the  further  proceedings  and  policy  of  Presi- 
dent Kruger  and  his  Hollander  advisers  and  officials  in  an  entirely  differ- 
ent manner  from  that  which  has  been  possible.  The  British  repudia- 
tion of  the  plottings  of  the  conspirators  could  have  been  made  with  a 
clear  conscience,  and  at  the  same  time  all  attempts  of  the  Transvaal  to 
arm  itself  and  raise  a  great  army  could  have  been  forbidden  and  pre- 
vented. But,  as  it  was,  Mr.  Chamberlain,  by  remaining  in  office,  gave 
the  entire  power  to  President  Kruger.  Mr.  Chamberlain  could  not  for- 
bid him,  knowing  what  he  knew  and  what  President  Kruger  knew,  and 
President  Kruger  could  and  would  have  defied  Mr.  Chamberlain  if  he 
had  tried  to  remonstrate  about  the  military  ambitions  and  developments 
of  the  Transvaal  Kepublic.  The  British  authority  was,  from  the  time  of 
the  Raid,  paralyzed  not  only  by  the  absurd  and  wild  action  of  Dr.  Jame- 
son nor  by  the  deeply-laid  scheme  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  but  above  all  and 
through  all  by  the  suspected  complicity  of  the  Colonial  Office  itself  in 
these  nefarious  and  dishonorable  proceedings. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
THE    TRANSVAAL    AFTER    THE    RAID. 

THE  occurrence  as  we  have  described  it  caused  a  large  number  of 
fresh  complications.    The  Transvaal  government  was  naturally 
thrown  into  a  mood  of  permanent,  suspicion.    President  Kruger 
knew  enough  of  the  internal  history  of  the  Johannesburg  plot  and  its 
connection  with  the  Colonial  Office  in  London  to  convince  him  that 
Mr.  Chamberlain  had  made  a  serious  effort  to  rob  the  Transvaal  of  its 
independence.     If  the  allegations  against  Mr.  Chamberlain  are  true,  as 
they  seem  to  be,  the  President  had  abundant  reason  for  resentment  and 
suspicion. 

The  event,  even  as  he  saw  it,  was  calculated  to  open  up  before  him 
two  entirely  different  paths,  one  of  which  only  could  it  have  been  safe 
and  wise  for  him  to  pursue,  and  the  other  of  which  must  lead  him  into 
fresh  difficulties.  He  chose  the  latter.  If  his  far-famed  shrewdness 
had  not  deserted  Kruger  he  must  have  seen  that  his  treatment  of  the 
Outlanders  had  been  far  too  selfish  and  short-sighted,  that  his  policy 
with  them  had  goaded  them  into  uncontrollable  anger,  that  they  had 
won  the  sympathy  of  nearly  all  the  citizens  of  the  democratic  countries 
who  became  aware  of  their  social  and  political  conditions  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. If,  pursuing  this  line  of  argument,  President  Kruger  had  listened 
to  the  leaders  of  his  own  fellow  citizens,  like  General  Joubert,  who 
belonged  to  the  progressive  party,  he  must  have  concluded  that  the 
future  peace  of  his  country  and  the  safety  of  its  independence  could  only 
be  secured  by  granting  citizenship  to  the  huge  population  of  foreigners 
under  reasonable  terms,  and  making  concessions  to  them  on  the  other 
matters  in  regard  to  which  they  felt  themselves  unjustly  treated.  This 
was  the  p>lan  which  the  President  most  unfortunately  rejected.  He 
may  have  been  moved  to  some  extent  by  the  usual  prejudice  which 
every  leader  of  a  party  in  any  country  feels  against  openly  giving  way 
and  adopting  the  policy  advocated  by  the  leaders  of  the  opposing  party* 

583 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID. 

To  have  yielded  on  these  points  would  have  been  to  confess  that  in  all 
their  previous  discussions  General  Joubert  and  his  followers  had  been 
right.  Most  probably  Kruger  was  impressed  by  the  conviction  that 
these  foreigners  would  not  become  loyal  citizens  of  the  South  African 
Republic,  and  might,  as  he  has  so  often  urged  that  they  would,  speedily 
outvote  the  Boers  at  the  polls,  oust  them  from  leadership,  eventually 
make  them  a  mere  struggling  minority  in  their  own  country,  and  per- 
haps even  resign  their  independence  by  accepting  a  formal  connection 
with  the  r.ritish  Empire.  But  then  the  very  quarrel  between  the  leaders 
at  Johannesburg  and  Mr.  Ehodes  which  had  precipitated  the  Jameson 
Ilaid,  ought  to  have  made  it  clearer  still  to  President  Kruger  that  the 
betrayal  of  their  independence  was  not  in  the  least  likely  to  become 
part  of  the  policy  of  the  Outlanders  if  they  should  govern  the  Trans- 
vaal. 

The  other  fear  of  course  was  a  very  hard  one  to  face.  Undoubtedly 
in  time  the  Outlanders  will  outnumber  and  outvote  the  Dutchmen  in 
the  Transvaal.  This  is  in  the  nature  of  things  absolutely  inevitable.  That 
which  President  Kruger,  as  probably  every  one  now  feels,  might  have 
very  well  arranged  for  was  that  the  conditions  of  the  franchise  should 
be  such  as  to  give  the  Outlanders  a  real  representation  and  a  real 
legislative  influence  in  the  Volksraad,  while  securing  that  for  a  number 
of  years  at  any  rate  they  should  be  unable  to  obtain  a  majority  of  the 
votes  in  that  house.  The  fairness  of  this  plan  was  obvious  even  to  Sir 
Alfred  Milner,  who  openly  said  that  he  had  no  desire  to  demand  from 
President  Kruger  terms  of  franchise  for  the  Outlanders  which  should 
at  once  give  them  the  majority  in  their  legislative  assembly. 

Driven  then  by  these  fears,  President  Kruger,  with  his  executive, 
resolved  not  merely  to  withhold  any  privileges  which  the  Outlauders 
had  sought,  but  to  devise  repressive  measures  which  should  make  a 
repetition  of  their  conspiracy  impossible.  The  adoption  of  this  plan 
led  to  a  series  of  transactions  which  have  undoubtedly  very  seriously 
aggravated  the  internal  social  conditions  of  the  Transvaal.  A  system  of 
espionage  was  set  up  in  Johannesburg  by  which  every  Outlander  was 
treated  as  a  possible  conspirator.  Public  meetings  for  the  agitation, 
even  in  an  open  and  orderly  manner,  of  their  wrongs  and  their  pleas 
were  forbidden  or  dispersed,  The  mines  and  the  homes  of  the  citizens 


584  '  THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID. 

of  Johannesburg  were  searched  from  time  to  time  for  arms  and  ammu- 
nition or  incriminating  matter  of  any  kind.  The  Dutch  burghers  were 
drilled  and  trained  for  war  on  a  more  extensive  scale  than  ever,  and  for 
this  purpose  European  officials  were  hired  and  brought  to  the  country. 
Large  and  larger  supplies  of  guns  and  ammunition  were  imported,  most 
of  them  being  carried  through  British  territories.  Forts  were  built  at 
Pretoria  and  Johannesburg.  At  the  latter  place  the  fort  was  so  built 
as  to  command  the  town  itself  and  cannons  were  placed  there  with  their 
threatening  muzzles  pointed  at  the  city.  Along  with  these  unconcealed 
and  formal  measures  of  a  threatening  order,  there  inus.t  of  course  be 
reckoned  the  less  palpable  but  none  the  less  dispiriting  and  irritating 
influences  exerted  by  the  new  social  and  political  relations  set  up  be- 
tween the  Boers  as  individuals  and  the  Outlanders  as  individuals.  As 
their  national  income  increased  beyond  all  their  previous  dreams,  and 
increased  through  the  taxation  of  the  very  citizens  whom  they  suspected 
and  repressed,  and  as  their  own  commercial  or  military  power  waxed 
stronger  the  Boer  citizens  were  tempted  to  adopt  offensive  manners 
and  to  make  contemptuous  speeches  to  the  men  whom  they  considered 
to  be  enemies  writhin  their  power.  We  must  not  of  course  blame  the 
Boers  too  much  for  a  sentiment  which  every  race,  alas,  has  shared 
towards  its  subject  peoples  in  similar  circumstances;  yet,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  only  fair  to  acknowledge  that  all  these  circumstances  could 
not  but  create  still  deeper  feelings  of  unjust  treatment  in  the  hearts  of 
the  Outlanders. 

The  bitterness  of  the  Outlanders  was  aggravated  by  a  series  of  events 
which  ought  to  have  removed  it.  In  1897  President  Kruger  was  at  last 
persuaded  to  appoint  a  commission  to  investigate  the  complaints  of  the 
citizens  of  Johannesburg.  The  Report  of  the  Industrial  Commission 
shows  that  the  appointees  of  Mr.  Kruger  sat  for  several  months  exam- 
ining witnesses  at  Johannesburg,  and  that  to  their  own  utter  surprise 
and  confusion  they  were  compelled  to  announce  that  the  complaints  of 
the  Outlanders  which  the  Government  had  so  scorned  and  trampled  upon 
were  justified!  Everyone  who  asserts  that  the  Johannesburgers  had  no 
real  wrongs  and  were  driven  on,  like  silly  sheep,  by  a  few  capitalists  to 
revolution  in  1895  and  to  the  petition  to  the  Queen  in  1899  ought  to 
know  that  their  wrongs  were  in  1897  pronounced  by  President  Kruger's 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID.  585 

own  commission  to  be  both  real  and  serious.  The  question  whether 
they  were  serious  enough  to  warrant  the  actions  taken  is  one  which 
may  be  safely  left  to  their  owrn  common  sense.  The  Keport  of  the 
Industrial  Commission  was  received  by  President  Kruger  with  his  accus- 
tomed indignation  of  heart  and  vigor  of  language.  He  called  a  mem- 
ber of  his  Executive  Council  who  served  on  the  commission,  disloyal,  for 
agreeing  to  its  report.  The  practical  results  of  this  commission 
appear  to  have  been  practically  nothing.  Mr.  Reitz  appears  to  prove 
that  on  one  set  of  matters,  viz.,  the  Liquor  Law,  the  Pass  Law  and  Gold 
Thefts,  some  progress  was  made.  But  on  all  other  matters  even  he  gives 
no  evidence  that  the  Government  made  a  serious  attempt  to  fulfill  the 
demands  made  in  the  report  of  its  own  commission.  ("A  Century  of 
Wrong,"  pp.  61-65.  Cf.  Fitzpatrick,  "The  Transvaal  from  Within,"  pp. 
302-312.) 

It  is  often  brought  as  a  matter  of  reproach  against  the  citizens  of 
Johannesburg  that  they  were  reformers  in  the  interests  of  capitalism. 
Capitalists,  it  is  urged,  were  those  who  stimulated  their  agitation  and 
the  hope  they  had  in  view  was  simply  the  increase  of  their  profits 
as  gold  seekers.  This  of  course  is  an  assertion  which  can  not  be  denied. 
A  large  part  of  the  difficulty  created  in  the  Transvaal  was  caused 
by  the  desire  of  men  for  wealth,  and  the  passion  of  wealthy  men  for 
still  more  wealth.  But  unless  we  are  going  to  condemn  utterly  the  pur- 
suit of  wealth  in  any  degree  or  form  the  mere  assertion  that  the  reform- 
ers were  pursuing  wealth  does  not  necessarily  carry  with  it  the  con- 
demnation of  their  agitation.  It  does  lay  it  open,  unfortunately  for 
human  nature,  to  grave  suspicion.  The  Boers  have  steadily  asserted 
and  believe  that  the  impelling  force  behind  the  whole  agitation  was 
Mr.  Rhodes,  whose  ambition  has  been,  they  say,  to  obtain  control  of 
the  Transvaal  as  well  as  of  Rhodesia.  His  control  of  the  Transvaal 
would  be  reached  through  the  huge  company  entitled  the  Consolidated 
Gold  Fields  of  South  Africa,  which  owns  an  enormous  share  of  nearly 
all  the  large  mining  companies  in  the  Transvaal.  They  felt  persuaded 
that  if  the  Outlanders  received  the  franchise  they  would  necessarily  be 
under  the  dictation  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  as  the  Boers  themselves  were  under 
the  dictation  of  Mr.  Kruger.  Now  whether  Mr.  Rhodes  as  an  individual 
has  cherished  any  such  designs  or  not,  and  no  one  who  appreciates 


586  THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID. 

his  courage  has  any  right  to  say  that  his  ambition  has  had  any  limits 
even  in  this  direction — the  question  of  the  justice  of  the  Outlanders' 
position  in  relation  to  President  Kruger's  Government  remains  to  be 
determined.  It  is  asserted  that  recently  the  taxes  in  the  Transvaal 
amounted  to  f  110  per  capita  annually,  while  in  England  they  amount  to 
$15.  Further,  the  miners  have  proved  that  they  were  compelled  to  spend 
75  per  cent  of  their  net  profits  in  the  payment  of  taxes.  In  1897  the 
dividends  which  were  paid  amounted  to  £2,727,000  (about  f  13,000,000) 
while  the  collected  revenue  of  the  Government  for  the  same  year  was 
£3,956,000  (about  $19,500,000).  In  the  year  1898  for  the  first  time  the 
dividends  paid  to  the  shareholders  equalled  the  taxes  paid  by  the 
mining  industries  to  Mr.  Kruger's  Government.  Mr.  J.  Hays  Hammond, 
the  eminent  consulting  engineer  of  Johannesburg,  in  his  report  of 
October  23d,  1899,  estimated  that  if  they  had  good  government  in  the 
Transvaal  the  value,  to  the  gold  miners  of  the  resulting  direct  and 
indirect  benefits  would  represent  the  value  of  about  6  shillings  ($1.50) 
per  ton  of  crushed  ore  and  speaks  of  that  as  a  conservative  estimate. 
On  the  preceding  year's  tonnage  this  would  mean  an  increase  of  about 
£2,600,000  (about  $12,800,000)  in  annual  dividends. 

Of  course  it  does  look  as  if,  and  it  is  the  case  that,  in  a  controversy 
regarding  facts  like  these  the  Outlanders  are  fighting  partly  for  an  in- 
crease of  wealth.  Their  claim  that  the  Transvaal  Government  has  robbed 
them  of  a  large  share  of  their  profits  does  not  awaken  the  sympathy  of 
the  average  man  when  he  believes  that  the  profits  were  enormous  even 
as  things  went.  But  surely  there  is  another  point  of  view.  A  govern- 
ment does  not  exist  arbitrarily  to  restrict  the  productivity  of  its  people, 
nor  arbitrarily  to  limit  the  profits  which  they  are  to  enjoy  from  their 
productive  labors.  The  real  agony  of  the  situation  in  the  Transvaal 
is  just  here,  that  the  Outlanders  found  so  large  a  portion  of  the  produce 
of  their  labors  going  into  the  hands  of  an  official  class,  whose  labors 
as  officials  were  vastly  over-paid,  and  into  Government  monopolies, 
which  were  unfair  and  exercised  a  restrictive  influence  upon  the  coun- 
try's development.  In  fact  it  would  appear  that  it  is  the  old  struggle 
between  the  productive  and  the  parasitic  classes.  In  this  case  the 
parasites  were  those  who  received  the  enormous  wealth  represented 
in  the  indirect  taxes  imposed  by  the  governmental  system  of  the  Trans- 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID.  587 

vaal.  The  productives  were  represented  by  those  whose  genius  and 
power  were  obtaining  gold  from  the  mines  and  attempting  to  fill  the 
Transvaal  with  manufactured  goods  from  all  the  countries  of  the  world. 
If  the  Transvaal  Government  had  paid  reasonable  salaries  even  though 
large,  if  they  had  made  the  monopolies  government  monopolies,  and 
shown  in  thoroughly  audited  accounts  that  the  large  profits  went  to 
the  Government,  if  the  ever-increasing  revenues  of  the  country  amount- 
ing to  many  millions  had  been  spent  visibly  and  reasonably  upon 
building  railways  to  help  the  poverty  stricken  farming  districts,  or  to 
build  much  needed  bridges  and  roads  and  much  needed  school  houses 
and  even  parish  churches,  if  it  had  been  used  to  appoint  educators  and 
honorable  magistrates  for  700,000  black  people;  if,  that  is  to  say,  the 
75  per  cent  of  net  profits  mentioned  above  as  paid  in  taxes  of  all  kinds 
by  the  gold  miners,  had  been  spent  honorably  by  the  Government  for 
the  good  of  the  country  the  whole  world  would  have  approved  of  the 
motive  actuating  President  Kruger,  would  have  seen  that  in  the  end 
the  money  so  spent  would  return  to  the  miners  themselves  in  the  form  of 
innumerable  blessings,  the  world  would  have  said  that  for  once  we  had 
in  President  Kruger  a  man  so  religious  and  so  patriotic  as  to  see  that 
every  farthing  of  even  heavy  taxes  wras  spent  upon  the  true  elevation 
of  the  entire  people  under  his  rule. 

Instead  of  all  that,  what  we  do  actually  find  is  that  nearly  all  the 
money  which  was  thus  gathered  from  the  productive  class  has  been 
spent  partly  in  bloated  salaries,  partly  in  unearned  premiums  to  the 
shareholders  of  monopolies,  partly  in  the  formation  of  the  Transvaal 
into  a  military  camp,  partly  in  a  large  secret  service  fund  whose  extent 
and  operations  may  never  be  determined.  Surely  the  productive  class 
had  a  legitimate  right  to  protest  against  a  taxation  which,  while  it  did 
not  impoverish  them,  enriched  a  parasitic  class  and  left  the  country 
after  all  struggling  in  a  bad  position  socially  and  economically. 

It  is  evident  that  under  these  conditions,  while  the  output  of  a  few 
mires  did  rapidly  increase,  the  development  of  commerce  as  a  whole 
was  seriously  hindered.  Capitalists  were  unwilling  to  invest  their 
money  in  a  region  which  resembled  a  suppressed  volcano.  Some 
people  may  of  course  argue  that  the  people  were  making  enough  money 
as  it  was,  and  of  some  of  them  it  is  no  doubt  true.  But  no  intelligent 


588  THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID. 

man  can  jmagine  that  in  a  commercial  community  the  people  will  be 
content  if,  when  they  see  plans  of  commercial  development  upon  which 
they  could  easily  enter  and  which  would  add  to  the  population  of  the 
country-,  its  general  wealth  and  power,  they  find  also  that  arbitrary 
restrictions  are  placed  upon  their  efforts  to  carry  out  these  plans. 

It  ought  in  all  fairness  to  be  observed  that  these  transactions, 
especially  the  development  of  the  Republic's  military  resources  and 
efficiency,  were  not  interfered  with  by  the  British  government  even 
although  it  was  only  against  her  or  her  colonies  that  this  military 
force  could  be  exerted.  It  is  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  there  is  no  other 
country  in  the  world  which  would  have  allowed  this  development  to 
go  on  unchecked.  Neither  Russia,  nor  German}7,  nor  France  would 
have  patiently  endured  these  circumstances  for  a  single  year. 

During  these  years  Mr.  Chamberlain  made  several  speeches  in  which 
he  showed  that  he  appreciated  the  continued  gravity  of  the  situation 
and  yet  desired  by  all  means  to  avoid  any  approach  to  a  war.  For 
example,  on  February  14,  1896,  Mr.  Chamberlain  declared  that  Great 
Britain  had  always  sought  to  secure  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the 
Dutch  in  South  Africa,  and  had  shown  her  willingness  to  make  sacri- 
fices of  territory  and  even  of  prestige  for  that  end.  He  said:  "We  are 
constantly  reminded  of  the  fact  that  our  Dutch  fellow  citizens  are  in  a 
majority  in  South  Africa,  and  I  think  I  may  say  for  myself  as  for  my 
predecessor,  that  we  are  prepared  to  go  as  far  as  Dutch  sentiment  will 
support  us.  It  is  a  very  serious  thing,  a  matter  involving  most  serious 
considerations,  if  we  are  asked  to  go  to  war  in  opposition  to  Dutch 
sentiment."  On  the  8th  of  May,  1896,  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  the  House  of 
Commons  used  the  following  clear  and  emphatic  language:  "In  some 
quarters  the  idea  is  put  forward  that  the  Government  ought  to  have 
issued  an  ultimatum  to  President  Kruger — an  ultimatum  which  would 
have  certainly  been  rejected,  and  which  must  have  led  to  war.  Sir,  I 
do  not  propose  to  discuss  such  a  contingency  as  that.  A  war  in  South 
Africa  would  be  one  of  the  most  serious  wars  that  could  possibly  be 
waged.  It  would  be  in  the  nature  of  a  civil  war.  It  would  be  a  long 
war,  a  bitter  war,  and  a  costly  war.  As  I  have  pointed  out,  it  would 
leave  behind  it  the  embers  of  a  strife  which  I  believe  generations  would 
hardly  be  long  enough  to  extinguish.  To  go  to  war  with  President 


THE  TRANSVAAL  AFTER  THE  RAID.  589 

Kruger  in  order  to  force  upon  him  reforms  in  the  internal  affairs  of  his 
State,  with  which  successive  Secretaries  of  State  standing  in  this  place 
have  repudiated  all  right  of  interference,  that  would  have  been  a  course 
of  action  as  immoral  as  it  would  have  been  unwise."  Yet  again^  on 
\  March  28,  1897,  when  Sir  Alfred  Milner  was  about  to  leave  for  his 
position  as  High  Commissioner  for  South  Africa  and  Governor  of  Cape 
Colony,  Mr.  Chamberlain  used  the  following  language:  "The  problem 
before  us  and  before  him  is  not  an  insoluble  problem.  For  what  is  it? 
It  is  to  reconcile  and  persuade  to  live  together  in  peace  and  good  will 
two  races  whose  common  interests  are  immeasurably  greater  than  any 
differences  which  may  unfortunately  exist.  .  .  . " 

The  Outlanders  could  not  long .  avoid  the  utterance  of  protests 
against  the  treatment  that  they  received.  During  the  winter  of  1898-99 
affairs  became  rapidly  complicated  and  embittered.  A  small  event  will 
in  such  circumstances  create  great  excitement.  Sjjuch,  an  event  was  the 
murder  of  a  man  Edgar  in  December,  1898.  In  itself,  this  event  was  not 
likely  in  ordinary  times  to  create  any  public  feeling  of  a  political 
nature,  but  it  was  like  a  spark  of  fire  in  a  mass  of  the  most  combustible 
material.  It  led  to  the  holding  of  a  demonstration,  and  the  arrest  of 
Messrs.  Webb  and  Dodd,  two  of  the  leading  protestors.  This  Mr.  Dodd 
is  one  of  two  brothers  from  the  north  of  England,  men  of  the  lower 
middle  class,  not  capitalists,  not  firebrands,  but  intelligent  and  earnest 
men  who  have  been  accustomed  to  the  political  freedom  of  their  home 
land,  and  who,  by  public  wrork  and  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  seek, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad,  to  help  their  fellow-citizens.  In  January, 
1899,  a  large  open  meeting  of  Outlanders  was  held  in  the  amphitheater, 
at  which  speeches  were  being  delivered  when  the  police  interfered  and 
dispersed  the  gathering.  The  excitement  grew  and  took  shape  at  last 
in  the  sending  of  a  petition  to  the  Queen,  signed  by  21,684  British 
subjects,  which  was  forwarded  through  Sir  Alfred  Milner.  President 
Kruger  at  this  time  made  several  public  addresses,  none  of  which 
indicated  any  serious  desire  to  solve  the  problems  at  issue,  but  he 
welcomed  a  counter  petition  to  the  address  to  the  Queen  which  was 
presented  to  himself  and  signed  by  9,000  Outlanders. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    AFRIKANDER  BOND,  AND    THE    PRESIDENTS'   HOPE. 

I. 

THE  full  significance  of  the  South  African  organization  known  as 
the  Afrikander  Bond  has  yet  to  be  measured.     When  all  its 
spirit  and  policy,  its  various  efforts  and  influences  since  its  founda- 
tion in  1881  are  reckoned  up,  one  of  the  most  important  chapters  in 
the  recent  history  of  South  Africa  will  then  be  written. 

This  Bond  or  Association  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  Dutch 
people  living  in  South  Africa,  According  to  the  terms  of  its.  'consti- 
tution all  Afrikanders,  that  is,  all  persons  born  in  South  Africa  of 
European  descent,  are  eligible  for  membership;  but  as  a  matter  of  fact 
exceedingly  few  have  become  members  who  are  not  of  Dutch  or  Dutch- 
French  descent.  The  Bond  was  formed  in  the  year  1881  at  the  very 
time  when  the  success,  or  apparent  success,  of  the  Transvaal  war  of 
independence  had  awakened  Dutch  enthusiasm  throughout  the  country. 
That  was  also  the  very  time  when  the  Imperial  Government  was  delib- 
erately loosening  its  grasp  elsewhere  in  South  Africa.  "Politicians," 
it  has  been  said,  "went  from  town  to  town  in  England  advocating  the 
desertion  of  South  Africa,  retaining  only  the  Cape  as  a  coaling  station, 
thus  constituting  another  Gibraltar  in  the  southern  seas.  Who  can 
wonder  at  the  direct  result  in  South  Africa — the  formation  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond?  The  Anti-English  people  thought  of  a  Republic, 
and  prepared  for  it;  the  English  and  loyal  colonial  population  ground 
their  teeth,  and  remained  silent  and  downcast,  as  colonists  who  were  de- 
serted by  the  Mother  country.  A  few  Cape  politicians  of  English  race 
were  perhaps  the  most  rabid  against  the  old  country.  They,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  nursed  a  sense  of  personal  desertion,  and  shrieked  rather  than 
said  that  they  would  never  trust  England  again.  Young  English  col- 
onists left  the  country  in  cases  where  that  could  be  done.  Older  men 
set  to  work  to  learn  the  Dutch  language,  and  be  prepared  for  future 
possibilities.  And  yet  the  great  body  of  Cape  Colonists,  of  whatever 

590 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  591 

extraction,  were  far  from  being  disloyal  to  England."  (J.  Mackenzie, 
Austral- Africa,  Vol.  1,  pp.  396.)  The  same  writer  again  says,  "The 
most  cruel  drag  upon  the  progress  of  the  Cape,  upon  its  Legislature,  and 
especially  upon  the  efforts  of  the  most  enlightened  and  most  reliable 
Cape  politicians,  is  the  uncertain  and  vacillating  policy  of  England 
towards  South  Africa.  This  was  the  real  cause  of  the  formation  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond  and  its  subsequent  increase  in  membership.  The 
people  were  taught  to  believe  that  England  was  about  to  abandon  South 
Africa;  and  the  leaders  of  the  movement  pleased  themselves  and  their 
hearers  with  the  idea  that  they  would  then  form  themselves  into  a 
Republic  under  their  own  flag."  These  words  were  written  from  per- 
sonal and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  facts  so  long  ago  as  1887. 

The  Afrikander  Bond  is  not  confined  to  Cape  Colony  or  to  any  one 
part  of  South  Africa.  Dutch  sympathisers  with  it  may  become  mem- 
bers of  it  wherever  they  live  in  South  Africa.  It  has  affiliated  branches 
in  the  Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State  as  well  as  in  Cape  Colony. 
As  the  principles  of  this  Bond  are  not  generally  known  and  are  of 
immense  importance  in  the  interpretation  of  recent  South  African  his- 
tory its  platform  must  be  given  in  its  own  words:  • 

"(1)  The  Afrikander  National  Party  acknowledges  the  guidance  of 
Providence  in  the  affairs  both  of  lands  and  peoples. 

"(2)  They  include  under  the  guidance  of  Providence  the  formation 
of  a  pure  nationality  and  the  preparation  of  our  people  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  United  South  Africa. 

"(3)  To  this  they  consider  belong,  (a)  the  establishment  of  a  firm 
union  between  all  the  different  European  nationalities  in  South  Africa, 
and  (b)  the  promotion  of  South  Africa's  independence  (zelfstandigheid). 

"(4)  They  consider  that  the  union  mentioned  in  Art.  3  (a)  depends 
upon  the  clear  and  plain  understanding  of  each  other's  general  interest 
in  politics,  agriculture,  stock-breeding,  trade  and  industry,  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  everyone's  special  rights  in  the  matter  of  religion, 
education  and  language,  so  that  all  national  jealousy  between  the 
different  elements  of  the  people  may  be  removed,  and  room  be  made 
for  an  unmistakable  South  African  national  sentiment. 

"(5)  To  the  advancement  of  the  independence  mentioned  in  Art.  3 
(b)  belong:  (a)  that  the  sentiment  of  national  self-respect  and  of  patriot- 


;i»2  7777-  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

ism  towards  South  Africa  should  above  all  be  developed  and  exhibited 
iu  schools,  and  in  families,  and  in  the  public  press;  (b)  that  a  system 
of  voting  should  be  applied  which  not  only  acknowledges  the  right  of 
numbers,  but  also  that  of  ownership  and  the  development  of  intelli- 
gence; and  that  is  opposed  as  far  as  possible  to  bribery  and  compulsion 
at  the  polls;  (c)  that  our  agriculture,  stock-breeding,  commerce  and 
industries  should  be  supported  in  every  lawful  manner,  such  as  by  a 
conclusive  (doeltreff'ende)  law  as  regards  masters  and  servants,  and  also 
by  the  appointment  of  a  prudent  and  advantageous  system  of  protec- 
tion; (d)  that  the  South  African  colonists  and  states  either  each  for 
itself  or  in  conjunction  with  one  another  shall  regulate  their  own 
native  affairs,  employing  thereto  the  forces  of  the  land  by  means  of  a 
satisfactory  burgher  law,  and  (e)  that  outside  interference  with  the 
domestic  concerns  of  South  Africa  shall  be  opposed. 

"(6)  While  they  acknowledge  the  existing  Governments  holding 
rule  in  South  Africa,  and  intend  faithfully  to  fulfill  their  obligations 
in  regard  to  the  same,  they  consider  that  the  duty  rests  upon  those 
Governments  to  advance  the  interests  of  South  Africa  in  the  spirit 
of  the  foregoing  articles;  and,  whilst  on  the  other  hand  they  watch 
against  any  unnecessary  or  frivolous  interference  with  the  domestic 
or  other  private  matters  of  the  burgher,  against  any  direct  meddling 
with  the  spiritual  development  of  the  nation,  and  against  laws  which 
might  hinder  the  free  influence  of  the  Gospel  upon  the  national  life, 
on  the  other  hand,  they  should  accomplish  all  the  positive  duties  of  a 
good  Government,  among  which  must  be  reckoned:  (a)  In  all  their 
actions  to  take  account  of  the  Christian  character  of  the  people.  (b) 
The  maintenance  of  freedom  of  religion  for  everyone,  so  long  as  the 
public  order  and  honor  are  not  injured  thereby.  (c)  The  acknowledg- 
ment and  expression  of  religious,  social  and  bodily  needs  of  the  people 
in  the  observance  of  the  present  weekly  day  of  rest.  (d)  The  applica- 
tion of  an  equal  and  judicious  system  of  taxation.  (e)  The  bringing 
into  practice  of  an  impartial  and,  as  far  as  possible,  economical  admin- 
istration of  justice.  (f)  The  watching  over  the  public  honor,  and 
against  the  adulteration  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  the  defiling  of 
ground,  water  or  air,  as  well  as  against  the  spreading  of  infectious 
diseases. 


GROUP  OF  OFFICERS,  SECOND  CONTINGENT  CANADIAN  MOUNTED 
RIFLES,  AT  TORONTO 


en 

a 

a 

o 

a 


o 

K 

O 

a? 
o 


a 
o 

K 

H 
K 

O 


o 

or 
x 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  593 

"(7)  In  order  to  secure  the  influence  of  these  principles,  they  staml 
forward  as  an  independent  party,  and  accept  the  co-operation  of  other 
parties  only  if  the  same  can  be  obtained  with  the  uninjured  main- 
tenance of  these  principles." 

It  is  evident,  of  course,  that  much  of  this  document  is  most  praise- 
worthy in  its  spirit.  But  South  Africans  are  bound  to  read  behind 
some  even  of  the  religious  affirmations  a  meaning  which  would  not  be 
placed  upon  the  same  words  in  America  or  England;  such  as  the 
elastic  clause  in  (6)  (b),  which  safeguards  religious  freedom  by  adding 
"so  long  as  the  public  order  and  honor  are  not  injured  thereby."  Many 
will  think  at  once  of  the  blacks,  and  the  persistence  with  which,  for  so 
long,  the  Boers  opposed  all  mission-work  among  them,  for  "the  public 
order  and  honor."  The  weight  of  all  such  documents  is  to  be  found  not 
in  the  matter-of-course  details  or  the  aims  and  statements  of  aims  which 
are  the  commonplace  of  all  modern  political  associations  and  creeds, 
but  in  the  distinctive  affirmations  which  mark  out  the  purpose  and 
policy  of  this  specified  organization  and  give  the  reasons  for  its  being. 

To  begin  with,  it  is  important  to  remark  that  the  Afrikander  Bond 
took  the  place  of  an  older  Association  which  existed  to  further  many  of 
the  social  aims  described  in  these  Articles  of  the  Bond.  The  new  ele- 
ment, the  intense  "Afrikanderism,"  expressed  in  words  about  "pure 
nationality,"  "independence"  and  "interference  from  without,"  came 
from  the  new  spirit  wakened  by  the  retrocession  of  the  Transvaal. 
People  in  Britain  and  America  should  realize  once  for  all  that,  through- 
out South  Africa  when  men  of  any  party  speak  of  "Afrikanderism"  or  the 
spirit  of  the  Bond,  they  refer  to  the  meaning  underlying  the  phrases 
just  quoted.  Further  be  it  noticed  that  those  who  are  members 
of  it  are  described  as  the  Afrikander  National  Party.  They,  qnder 
the  guidance  of  Providence,  aim  at  the  creation  of  what  is  called  "a 
pure  nationality"  and  the  use  of  such  means  as  will  secure  a  United 
South  Africa.  (The  phrase  "pure  nationality"  is  a  very  peculiar  one, 
often  used  by  Afrikander  Bond  speakers.  What  does  it  mean?)  In 
order  to  secure  a  United  South  Africa  they  affirm  that  two  things-  are 
necessary,  the  first  is  a  mutual  understanding  and  union  between  the 
different  European  nationalities;  the  second  is  the  "promotion  of  South 
African  independence."  Under  Section  5  (e)  it  is  again  affirmed  that 


594  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

the  advancement  of  its  independence  includes  opposition  to  outside 
interference  with  the  domestic  concerns  of  South  Africa.  These  clauses 
are  vague,  and  can  only  be  interpreted  for  us  by  the  actual  life  and 
work  of  the  Association.  They  may  mean  merely  that  the  Bond  Party 
desire  South  African  Hoipe  Rule  under  the  British  flag.  But,  as  we 
shall  see,  subsequent  events  show  that  for  many  members  of  the  Bond 
they  have  meant  much  more. 

Our  judgment 'of  the  righteousness  of  the  Association  which  has 
this  distinctive  and  definite  aim  must  depend  upon  several  considera- 
tions. In  the  first  place  the  Association  includes  the  Dutch  citizens 
of  two  states,  namely,  the  Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State,  which 
have  been,  as  regards  internal  affairs,  completely  independent  of  the 
Imperial  Government.  Further  it  is  of  importance  to  notice  that  while 
Sir  John  Brand  was  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  he  opposed 
the  formation  of  the  Bond,  but  that  since  his  death  the  heads,  the  Presi- 
dents, of  both  of  these  independent  states  have  been  members  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond.  Further,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that  it  has  its  head- 
quarters at  Cape  Town  in  a  colony  whose  self-government  is  as  com- 
plete as  that  of  an  Australian  colony,  or  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  or 
England  herself,  a  colony  which  is  treated  as  a  part  of  the  British 
Empire,  enjoying  a  full  and  real  internal  Legislative  and  Executive 
administration.  If  then  the  object  of  the  Bond  has  been  to  secure  a 
greater  independence  than  these  two  Dutch  states  and  the  South  Afri- 
can Colonies  already  enjoy,  that  can  mean  one  thing  only,  which  is  the 
cutting  of  the  last  tie  between  England  and  South  Africa.  There  are 
not  many  who  after  recent  developments  will  be  able  to  resist  the  con- 
clusion that  this  has  been  and  is  the  policy  and  ultimate  aim  of  the 
Afrikander  Bond.  What  then  are  we  to  think  of  the  action  of  Presi- 
dent Kruger  and  President  Steyn,  who  for  years  have  been  members  of 
the  Bond,  have  cherished  this  policy  and  sought,  through  the  Bond, 
to  advance  this  aim? 

One  of  the  founders  of  the  Bond  was  Mr.  F.  W.  Reitz,  afterwards,  for 
a  short  time,  President  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  and  now  State  Secre- 
tary of  the  Transvaal.  He  seems  to  have  been  active  in  securing  mem- 
bers for  the  Bond,  and  among  others,  approached  Mr.  Theodore 
Schreiner,  brother  of  the  present  Prime  Minister.  When  Mr.  Schreiner 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  595 

objected  that  the  Bond  aimed  ultimately  "at  the  overthrow  of  the 
British  power  and  the  expulsion  of  the  British  flag  from  South  Africa," 
Mr.  Reitz  said,  "Well,  what  if  it  is  so?"  When  Mr.  Schreiner  expostu- 
lated saying,  "You  don't  suppose  that  that  flag  is  going  to  disappear 
from  South  Africa  without  a  tremendous  struggle  and  fight?"  Mr. 
Reitz  answered,  "WeU,  I  suppose  not;  but  even  so,  what  of  that?"  It  is 
this  very  Mr.  Reitz  who  last  year  (1899)  discussed  the  question  of  Suze- 
rainty with  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  who,  as  he  tells  us,  did  not  base  his 
claim  to  self-government  on  the  Conventions  of  1881  and  1884,  "but 
simply  on  the  ground  of  its  (the  South  African  Republic)  being  a  sov- 
ereign international  state."  ("A  Century  of  Wrong,"  by  F.  W.  Reitz, 
pp.  58.)  It  is  the  same  astute  lawyer  and  eloquent  writer  who  closes 
this  pamphlet  with  the  following  paragraphs: 

"May  the  hope  which  glowed  in  our  hearts  during  1880,  and  which 
buoyed  us  up  during  that  struggle,  burn  on  steadily!  May  it  prove  a 
beacon  of  light  in  our  path,  invincibly  moving  onwards  through  blood 
and  through  tears,  until  it  leads  us  to  a  real  Union  of  South  Africa. 

"As  in  1880,  we  now  submit  our  cause  with  perfect  confidence  to 
the  whole  world.  Whether  the  result  be  Victory  or  Death,  Liberty 
will  assuredly  rise  in  South  Africa  like  the  sun  from  out  the  mists  of 
the  morning,  just  as  freedom  dawned  over  the  United  States  of  America 
a  little  more  than  a  century  ago.  Then  from  the  Zambesi  to  Simon's 
Bay  it  will  be  'Africa  for  the  Africanders.'  " 

Here  then  we  have  the  most  authoritative  interpretation  of  that 
famous  phrase,  which  has  been  universally  accepted  in  South  Africa 
as  the  unofficial  motto  of  the  Afrikander  Bond.  Mr.  Reitz  tells  us  that 
the  hope  of  throwing  Great  Britain  out  of  South  Africa  has  been  strong 
in  their  hearts  since  1880. 

Shortly  after  its  creation  the  Afrikander  Bond  showed  at  once  its 
determination  to  influence  events  and  the  direction  which  that  influence 
would  take.  In  October,  1883,  it  sent  to  the  British  Government  a 
petition  expressing  the  deep  sympathy  of  "many  thousands  of  Her 
Majesty's  faithful  subjects,  mostly  of  Dutch  extraction,  residing  in  the 
Colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,"  "with  their  compatriots  of  the  Trans- 
vaal State."  The  object  of  the  petition  was  to  beg  humbly  that  the 
Imperial  Government  would  grant  the  requests  about  to  be  made  by 


596  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

President  Kruger  and  other  members  of  the  deputation  which  was 
being  sent  to  London  at  that  time,  and  whose  proposals  and  success  we 
have  described  elsewhere.  Practically  they  asked  the  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment to  give  the  deputation  everything  they  wanted,  "most  particu- 
larly" in  connection  with  the  boundaries  on  the  west  and  southwest 
of  the  Transvaal  State.  It  was  a  clever  effort  to  influence  the  Govern- 
ment with  the  idea  that  they  would  please,  as  they  of  course  did  please, 
the  Dutch  in  Cape  Colony  by  agreeing  to  make  the  Transvaal  practically 
the  most  powerful  State  in  South  Africa. 

It  was  the  Afrikander  Bond  more  than  any  other  force  which  in 
the  years  1884-1885  opposed  every  effort  that  was  being  made  to  estab- 
lish the  British  Protectorate  of  South  Bechuanaland,  and  through  its 
subservient  ministry  at  Cape  Town  strove  to  obtain  some  credit  and 
some  life  for  the  petty  Boer  Republics  which  were  being  formed  within 
that  territory.  It  was  the  Bond  with  its  machinations  in  the  interests 
of  the  Transvaal  Republic  which  twisted  the  High  Commissioner  around 
its  little  finger,  and  so  weakened  the  Imperial  policy  that  it  required 
the  Warren  Expedition  of  1885  and  the  expenditure  by  Great  Britain 
of  several  millions  of  dollars  to  put  matters  right  in  South  Bechuana- 
land. It  was  the  influence  of  the  Bond  which,  through  a  weak  Gov- 
ernor, tried  to  defeat  this  very  expedition  by  attempts  to  thwart  the 
plans  and  limit  the  authority  of  Sir  Charles  Warren,  even  after  he  had 
landed  with  his  troops  on  South  African  soil-. 

Mr.  Bryce,  in  his  interesting  work,  "Impressions  of  South  Africa," 
has  expressed  the  opinion  that  during  the  years  between  its  formation 
and  the  Jameson  Raid  the  Afrikander  Bond  tended  to  lose  its  anti- 
English  spirit  and  he  attributes  this  partly  to  the  influence  of  Mr. 
Rhodes,  who  at  the  same  time  received  the  support  of  the  Bond  and 
maintained  his  reputation  as  a  strong  Imperialist,  "eager  to  extend 
the  range  of  the  British  power  over  the  continent."  It  may  be  said 
here  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  Mr.  Rhodes  was  for  a  long  time  more 
famous  as  an  Imperialist  in  England  than  in  South  Africa,  and  better 
known  in  South  Africa  than  in  England  as  a  co-worker  with  the 
Afrikander  Bond  and  promoter  of  its  policy.  But  it  is  not  the 
case  that  the  Afrikander  Bond  allowed  its  main  aim  and  pur- 
pose to  fade  during  those  years.  There  is  abundant  evidence  that 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. '  597 

• 

the  course  of  'political  events  in  Cape  Colony  was  quietly  but  con- 
stantly shaped  during  those  years  by  the  Bond,  and  that  the  legislation 
which  it  promoted  tended  steadily  towards  the  aggrandisement  of  the 
power  of  the  Dutch  in  Cape  Colony  and  the  prevention  of  Imperial 
growth  in  South  Africa.  Mr.  Bryce  ought  surely  to  have  allowed  some 
weight  to  the  fact  that  during  those  years  the  Bond  party  at  the  Cape 
held  the  reins  of  power  and  that  its  powerful  and  astute  leader,  Mr.  Hof- 
meyr,  held  the  nomination  of  the  Prime  Minister  in  his  own  hands. 
The  Bond  was  not  idle  one  year  and  its  persistent  influence  moved 
events  ever  towards  one  goal. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  a  great  deal  of  legislation  even  under  Mr. 
Rhodes  was  helpful  to  the  Bond  in  its  main  purposes.  Most  of  all  this 
appeared  perhaps  in  the  legislation  by  which  large  sections  of  the 
native  community  in  Cape  Colony  were  actually  disfranchised.  It  was 
not  and  could  not  be  proved  that  the  natives  misused  their  privilege;  on 
the  contrary  it  is  a  matter  of  history  that  many  of  the  best  educated 
and  most  powerful  members  of  the  Cape  Legislature,  were  sent  up  from 
constituencies  where  the  native  vote  predominated.  These  constituen- 
cies almost  invariably  supported  men  of  high  character  and  broad  edu- 
cation and  sterling  English  sympathy,  while  they  refused  to  be  repre- 
sented by  Dutchmen  of  a  pronounced  type.  Whatever  excuse,  therefore, 
might  be  made  for  the  act  of  disfranchisement,  the  real  effect  of  it  was 
to  weaken  the  Imperial  party  in  the  Cape  Legislature  and  to  strengthen 
the  political  grasp  of  the  Bond  upon  the  colonies.  Does  any  one  in 
South  Africa  doubt  that  the  Bond  leaders  foresaw  this  effect? 

The  existence  of  the  Bond  does  also  explain  the  policy  of  Mr.  Rhodes 
with  regard  to  what  was  called  the  "Imperial  Factor"  in  South  African 
affairs.  Mr.  Rhodes  of  course  felt  and  sincere!}'  believed  that  the  best 
wray  to  secure  Imperialism  was  to  denounce  the  Imperial  Factor,  as 
he  did;  that  the  best  way  to  attach  the  Cape  Dutch  to  England  was  to 
give  way  to  the  policy  of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  as  he  did.  Perhaps  he 
seemed  to  see  a  way  through  his  policy  to  the  strengthening  of  Imperial- 
ism over  South  Africa  as  a  whole,  and  the  gradual  consolidation  of  all 
South  African  states  into  a  great  dominion  under  the  British  flag.  But 
whatever  his  aim  was,  his  policy  has  undoubtedly  failed. 

If  Mr.  Rhodes  had  felt  that  his  policy  was  succeeding  he  would  not 


598  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

• 

have  run  the  risk  of  that  final  defeat  which  it  certainly  met  by  his 
alliance  with  the  citizens  of  Johannesburg  and  his  organization  of  the 
plan  that  degenerated  suddenly  into  the  Jameson  Raid;  if  his  relations 
as  Prime  Minister  of  Cape  Colony  with  the  Afrikander  Bond  at  Cape 
Town,  and  thereby  with  President  Kruger,  had  remained  friendly,  if  he 
had  seen  that  on  this  way  his  peculiar  Imperialism  was  certain  to  suc- 
ceed, he  would  have  found  some  other  means  of  persuading  President 
Kruger  without  the  exertion  of  force.  Most  persons  will  believe  that 
in  1895  Mr.  Rhodes  had  found  that  the  Afrikander  Bond  would  not 
help  him  to  secure  from  President  Kruger  the  alleviation  of  the  condi- 
tions of  the  Outlanders. 

The  influence  of  the  Bond  was  very  marked  in  relation  to  the  pro- 
posal to  send  peasant  farmers  from  Great  Britain  to  Bechuanaland  to 
develop  valuable  unoccupied  territories  in  that  Colony.  The  Bond's 
voice  at  once  shouted  that  this  was  "English  interference"  in  South 
Africa!  But  at  the  same  time  President  Kruger  was  inviting  settlers 
to  come  from  Belgium  and  Holland  to  the  Transvaal,  and  winking 
at  the  efforts  of  his  own  subjects  to  "interfere"  with  Bechuanaland 
affairs,  and  the  Bond  uttered  no  protest. 

In  relation  to  the  development  of  the  Cape  Colonial  railway  system 
the  influence  of  the  Bond  appeared  over  and  over  again.  For  years 
the  railway  into  the  northern  portion  of  the  Colony  failed  to  reach 
Kimberley,  the  largest  town  in  South  Africa  at  that  time.  The  reason 
for  this  laxity  of  the  Government  was  undoubtedly  that  Kimberley  was 
a  city  of  "outlanders,"  and  that  the  large  amount  of  trade  which  would 
flow  along  the  line  of  the  railway,  if  it  were  completed,  would  enrich 
the  farmers  of  various  nationalities  in  Cape  Colony,  but  as  long  as  the 
railway  was  uncompleted,  it  would  go  mainly  to  the  enrichment  of  the 
Orange  Free  State  and  the  southern  part  of  the  Transvaal.  So  also 
when*  proposals  were  made  for  the  Trunk  line  from  Kimberley  north- 
ward through  Bechuanaland,  the  same  anti-British  influence  served 
for  long  to  hinder  the  realization  of  this  project. 

The  steady  effect  of  each  movement  of  the  Bond  during  these  years — 
at  Cape  Town,  be  it  remembered — was  to  strengthen  the  Boer  Republics 
and  to  restrain  the  development  of  the  British  colonies. 

No  one  who  studies  the  history  of  Cape  politics  since  1881  can  doubt 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  599 

that  the  real  ruler  of  many  crises  in  legislation  and  in  Imperial  policy  at 
Cape  Town  was  President  Kruger.  If  this  be  so  our  appreciation  of 
his  shrewdness,  his  far-sightedness,  his  cunning,  his  indomitable  will 
must  be  immeasurably  deepened. 

The  policy  described  in  the  constitution  of  the  Afrikander  Bond, 
and  explained  by  Mr.  Reitz,  one  of  the  founders,  accounts  for  the  enor- 
mous and  successful  efforts  to  enlarge  the  military  resources  both  of 
the  Transvaal  and  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  Before  the  Jameson 
Raid  proposals  were  already  being  made  to  build  larger  forts  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  already  some  steps  had  been  taken  to  make  it  stronger 
as  a  military  power.  In  more  recent  years  the  Orange  Free  State  has 
been  importing  ammunition,  employing  foreign  officers  and  preparing 
itself  for  war.  All  this  w^as  being  done  in  times  of  perfect  peace  and 
by  two  co-operating  countries  which  never  actually  could  fight  with 
any  other  than  the  British  Empire  or  its  colonies  or  dependencies  in 
South  Africa,  The  world  has  only  now  discovered  with  amazement 
how  far  this  conspiracy  for  war  had  gone  during  the  last  ten  years. 
The  Afrikander  Bond  made  it  possible,  combined  with  the  wealth  of 
the  mines  and  the  grandmotherly  placidity  of  England. 

The  purpose  behind  the  organization  of  the  Bond  is  the  same  that 
has  urged  President  Kruger  in  his  unbending  opposition  to  the  enfran- 
chisement of  the  Outlanders.  If  theyt  had  been  enfranchised  on  the 
terms  which  were  in  operation  when  they  were  invited  into  the  country 
and  when  the  last  Convention  (1884)  was  made  with  Great  Britain,  the 
Afrikander  Bond  would  have  been  paralyzed,  and  the  Afrikander 
dream  forever  dissolved.  Those  who  hold  that  this  war  is  the  outcome 
of  a  plan  deliberately  formed  years  ago  and  silently  but  sturdily  pur- 
sued during  the  interval,  will  now  read  another  meaning  behind  the 
passionate  words  of  President  Kruger  in  his  Conference  with  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  at  Bio  mfontein  and  in  his  dealings  with  the  reformers'  com- 
mittees from  Johannesburg.  His  one  cry  was  "the  independence  of  my 
people,"  or  "of  my  burghers."  By  this  he  meant,  of  course,  in  the 
first  place,  the  power  of  his  30,000  Boer  voters  to  control  the  750,000 
natives  of  the  Transvaal,  as  well  as  the  60,000  Europeans  who  were 
fitted  to  qualify  to  vote  within  his  own  country.  That  form  of  "inde- 
pendence" he  had  undoubtedly  hungered  to  preserve.  But  was  there 


600  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

no  deeper  meaning  in  his  cry?  Was  not  that  independence  of  which 
the  Constitution  of  the  Afrikander  Bond  speaks  also  in  his  mind,  the 
settlement  for  which  he  had  been  working  so  skillfully,  so  patiently,  so 
successfully  for  nearly  twenty  years?  If  he  gave  the  franchise  to  the 
Outlanders  he  would  not  only  give  them  justice,  he  would  make  the 
presence  of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  finally  secure. 

What  has  been  said  regarding  the  actual  influence  of  the  Afrikander 
Bond  in  the  history  of  South  Africa  and  the  policy  cherished  by  its 
founders  and  leaders  must  not  be  taken  as  inevitably  leading  to  the 
condemnation  of  Mr.  Kruger.;  Those  who  hold  tliat  the  Boers  had  a 
sacred  right,  if  they  saw  the  chance,  to  fight  for  the  overthrow  of  the 
British  power  and  the  establishment  of  a  Boer  Republic  throughout 
South  Africa,  will  of  course  hold  that  the  Afrikander  Bond  was  an 
obvious  and  legitimate  means  for  furthering  that  end.  In  that  case 
President  Kruger  had  a  right  to  plot  against  England ;  had  a  right  to  re- 
fuse the  franchise  to  the  Outlanders,  since  the  granting  of  it  would  de- 
stroy his  great  ambition ;  had  a  right  to  influence  legislation  and  polic\" 
in  general  at  Cape  Town  through  Mr.  Hofmeyr  and  his  fellow-wrorkers; 
had  a  right  to  spend  millions  of  dollars  received  in  taxation  for  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  country,  in  building  up  the  splendid  and  efficient  army 
system  wrhich  to-day  is  causing  such  trembling  in  England  and  amaze- 
ment throughout  the  world;  had  a  right,  as  he  proposed  to  President 
Brand  in  1887,  to  subsidize  the  Orange  Free  State  Government  so 
lavishly  in  order  to  induce  it  to  form  the  closest  possible  alliance  with 
the  Transvaal. 

But  if  those  who  sympathize  with  President  Kruger's  purpose  ap- 
prove also  his  employment  of  the  Afrikander  Bond  for  that  purpose, 
they  cannot  blame  those  who  on  the  other  hand  call  that  treachery  and 
believe  that  England  had  a  right  to  employ  all  means  for  defeating  that 
purpose.  Those  who  believe  that  it  would  be  best  for  South  Africa, 
even  for  the  Boers,  much  more  for  the  vast  native  populations,  to  be 
controlled  by  Great  Britain  than  to  be  under  a  so-called  Boer  "Re- 
public," will  be  inclined  to  condone  all  that  England  has  done  to  defeat 
the  Afrikander  Bond.  But  they  will  have  little  indeed  to  condone;  they 
will  grieve  rather  that  the  Imperial  Government  has  been  so  blind,  so 
deaf  to  the  advices  of  her  friends,  so  unwilling  to  form  a  masterful 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  601 

counter-policy  and  to  carry  it  out  with  vigorous  consistency.  They  will 
assert  that  Britain  has  only  blundered  when  she  has  tried  to  act,  and 
only  vigorously  acted  too  late  when  she  was  driven  to  it  by  the  most 

portentous  events. 

•    II. 

The  subjedf  discussed  above  is  of  such  importance  as  to  warrant 
restatement  in  another  form  and  in  answer  to  the  direct  question : — Has 
there  been  among  prominent  individuals  in  the  Transvaal,  Orange  Free 
State  and  Cape  Colony  a  conspiracy  to  drive  Great  Britain  out  of  South 
Africa?  It  is  of  course  generally  recognized  that  if  such  a  conspiracy 
has  existed,  Great  Britain  would  stand  instantly  justified  before  the 
whole  world,  even  if  she  had  forced  on  the  present  war.  But  ludicrous 
demands  are  made  regarding  the  proof  of  such  a  conspiracy.  Incrimi- 
nating documents  are  asked  for,  quotations  from  speeches  are  demanded 
in  which  any  such  conspiracy  is  explicitly  confessed  or  described  by  the 
conspirators!  Now  it  must  be  remembered  that  not  all  conspirators  give 
themselves  away  so  easily  as  those  concerned  in  the  Jameson  Raid. 

It  is  a  familiar  fact  in  South  Africa  that  the  Afrikander  Bond,  like 
most  large  organizations,  has  comprised  members  of  diverse  natures  and 
purposes.  There  has  been  a  section  of  the  Bond  who  infinitely  prefer  be- 
ing protected  from  London  to  being  ruled  from  Pretoria,  and  who  have 
shown  during  this  war  that  they  are  loyal  to  Great  Britain.  Even  if  they 
would  be  glad  to  see  the  Union  Jack  thrown  into  the  sea  they  at  least 
do  not  wish  Mr.  Kruger  to  run  up  the  new  flag,  and  they  do  not  think  a 
change  would  be  safe  yet.  These  members  have  been  interested  in  the 
Bond  as  Dutchmen  who  saw  in  it  an  engine  for  gaining  political  and 
commercial  advantages  for  their  own  race  in  Cape  Colony,  quite  irre- 
spective of  more  general  or  Imperial  problems.  Mr.  Hofmeyr's  careful 
speeches  would  indicate  that  he  belongs  to  that  section,  although  many 
doubt  his  sincerity.  But  those  supporters  and  even  leaders  of  the 
Bond  who  avowed  themselves  loyal  have  yet  to  explain  how  they,  en- 
dured association  with  those  others,  like  Mr.  Reitz  and  Mr.  Steyn  and 
above  all  Mr.  Kruger,  who  saw  in  the  Bond  an  engine  for  realizing  that 
hope  which  Mr.  Reitz  has  now  at  last  so  openly  interpreted  to  the  world, 
"Africa  for  the  Africanders." 

The  question  whether  this  war  is  really  the  outcome  of  a  conspiracy 


002  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

• 

when  put  in  the  light  of  historical  fact  resolves  itself  into  three  ques- 
tions. First,  Has  or  has  not  the  Afrikander  Bond,  or  a  section  of  it, 
confessedly  been  preparing  the  way  for  the  last  twenty  years  for  driv- 
ing out  Great  Britain  and  establishing  a  Dutch  Government  in  South 
Africa?  The  evidence  seems  to  be  abundant  and  in  its  kind  most  con- 
vincing, that  the  answer  to  the  question  must  be  in  the  affirmative. 
South  African  newspapers  whether  hostile  or  friendly  to  this  purpose 
teem  with  proof  that  throughout  these  years,  that  has  been  generally 
accepted  as  the  ultimate  aim  of  a  certain  section  of  the  Dutch  people 
who  used  the  Bond  as  their  means  of  communication  and  constant  in- 
spiration. 

Second,  If  it  is  thus  proved  that  the  Presidents  of  the  Orange  Free 
State  and  the  Transvaal  were  in  organized  affiliation  with  one  another 
and  with  citizens  of  Cape  Colony  to  further  this  plan,  is  that  affiliation 
to  be  called  a  conspiracy'  or  not?  To  this  there  surely  can  be  only  one 
answer.  This  is  conspiracy.  The  very  man  who  stood  out  before  the 
world  as  the  indignant  victim  of  a  conspiracy  at  Johannesburg,  was 
actually  then  and  had  been  for  years  discussing  with  the  head  of  a 
neighboring  State  and  with  British  citizens  in  a  British  Colony  the 
ways  and  means  of  securing  "Africa  for  the  Africanders!" 

Third,  Has  this  conspiracy  taken  practical  shape  in  actual  and  con- 
certed preparations  for  the  war  which  should  drive  the  British  flag  out  of 
South  Africa?  This  also  must  be  answered  very  confidently  in  the 
affirmative.  Preparations  had  begun  before  the  Jameson  Raid,  but 
that  event  undoubtedly  hastened  and  encouraged  the  work.  The  simple 
facts  are  that  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  have  been  for 
years  buying  war  material,  and  drilling  their  citizens,  forming  artillery 
regiments  under  European  officers.  Now  there  is  no  other  country 
against  which  they  could  possibly  fight  except  Great  Britain;  for,  even 
if  the  Transvaal  had  attacked  Portugal,  Britain  would  have  intervened. 
The  jnost  earnest  and  extensive  operations  date  from  1896.  The  Raid 
created  the  very  atmosphere  in  which  the  work  could  be  pushed  with- 
out interference  from  Great  Britain  (for  obvious  reasons),  and  with  the 
approval  of  many  Dutch  citizens  in  the  Colonies  who,  hitherto  hindered 
by  caution,  were  aroused  to  a  white  heat  of  indignation  by  that  mon- 
strous wrong. 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  603 

Mr.  Keitz  has  himself  cited  the  strongest  proof  that  after  the  Raid 
the  conspirators  saw  and  seized  their  unexpected  opportunity.  The 
paper  which  Mr.  Reitz  has  called  "The  Organ  of  the  Africander  Party" 
said  in  1896,  "This  is  truly  a  critical  moment  in  the  existence  of  Afri- 
kanders all  over  South  Africa.  Now  or  never!  Now  or  never  the  foun- 
dation of  a  wide-embracing  nationalism  must  be  laid.  The  iron  is  red 
hot,  and  the  time  for  forging  is  at  hand."  The  writer  of  those  words 
then  passes  to  an  utterance  which  has  a  vital  importance.  He  says 
that  the  Colonial  Dutch  in  Natal  and  Cape  Colony  have  been  brought 
into  close  sympathy  with  the  Republics,  and  that  the  longed  for  union 
is  at  hand.  "The  partition  wall  has  disappeared."  It  is  the  great  hour 
when  all  Dutchmen  can  be  united.  "Never  has  the  necessity  for  a 
policy  of  a  Colonial  and  Republican  Union  been  greater;  now  the  psy- 
chological moment  has  arrived;  now  our  people  have  awakened  all 
over  Africa;  a  new  glow  illuminates  our  hearts:  let  us  now  lay  the 
foundation  stone  of  a  real  United  South  Africa  on  the  soil  of  a  pure  and 
all-comprehensive  national  sentiment."  (Mr.  Reitz's  "A  Century  of 
Wrong,"  p.  50.) 

From  that  date  the  Governments  of  the  two  Republics  have  con- 
sentaneously pushed  their  preparations.  And  the  result  of  their  steady 
labors  was  that  last  summer,  as  Mr.  Chamberlain  asserted,  the  Trans- 
vaal had  been  turned  into  a  military  camp. 

This  then  is  what  is  meant  by  a  conspiracy  in  South  Africa.  The 
two  Presidents  have  resolved  to  drive  Britain  out  of  South  Africa,  out 
of  her  own  colonies  which  are  as  much  part  of  the  Empire  as  Canada,  or 
Australia.  Behind  all  the  strenuous  resistance  of  the  Outlanders'  claims 
since  1890,  behind  the  claims  of  Mr.  Reitz,  in  1899,  that  the  South 
African  Republic  is  a  "sovereign  international  state,"  behind  the  alliance 
of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  South  African  Republic,  behind  the 
diplomatic  correspondence  of  the  last  ten  years,  and  of  last  year,  there 
has  been  this  steady  purpose.  The  world  sees  to-day  that  for  years  the 
conspiring  Presidents  have  been  preparing  an  army,  trained  and  armed, 
to  conquer  Natal  and  Cape  Colony,  to  annex  them  to  the  Dutch  Re- 
publics (as  has  actually  been  done!),  and  thus  to  establish  a  Boer  gov- 
ernment "from  the  Zambesi  to  Simon's  Bay." 

The  two  main  arguments  urged  against  the  belief  that  President 


604  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

Kruger  and  President  Stern  have  been  deliberately  preparing  for  a  war 
whose  result  should  be  that  which  we  have  described  above  are  as  fol- 
lows: First,  it  is  said  that  the  enormous  expenditure  of  money  "by 
President  Kruger  upon  military  preparations  dates  from  the  Jameson 
Raid  and  is  based  upon  his  fear  lest  Great  Britain  should  invade  the 
Transvaal.  This  argument  loses  nearly  all  its  force  from  the  fact  that 
the  Raid  enabled  President  Kruger  to  push  on  a  purpose  already  long 
cherished  more  boldly  and  more  rapidly  than  had  been  possible  before. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  he  had  received  before  all  the  world  the  strongest 
assurance  possible  that  whatever  individual  officers  had  guiltily"  at- 
tempted, Great  Britain  as  a  country  and  a  Government  repudiated  the 
accusation  that  she  desired  to  subdue  the  Transvaal.  No  assurances 
more  solemn  or  more  public  could  have  been  given  than  those  which 
Great  Britain  gave.  These  assurances  were  confirmed  by  the  fact  that 
she  made  no  protest  while  she  watched  President  Kruger  arming  him- 
self to  the  teeth.  Nor  did  she  direct  any  protest  against  the  sudden 
military  activity  which  broke  in  upon  the  Arcadian  peace  of  the  Orange 
Free  State.  Great  Britain  has  never  shown  any  inclination  to  invade 
the  territories  of  civilized  and  competent  governments  without  just 
cause,  and  it  is  impossible  for  candid  people  to  suppose  that  she  would 
have  begun  with  the  Transvaal.  Moreover  President  Kruger,  if  his 
desire  was  supremely  and  simply  to  ward  off  a  British  invasion  while 
doing  justice  within  his  borders  to  all  the  people  of  his  laud,  must  have 
seen  that  the  independence  of  the  Transvaal  as  a  self-governing  na- 
tionality would  be  more  secure  than  ever  if  he  admitted  all  these  Out- 
landers  into  full  citizenship.  For  on  the  eve  of  the  revolution  at  Johan- 
nesburg the  American,  Mr.  Hays  Hammond,  made  the  committee  stand 
up  and  swear  allegiance  to  the  Transvaal.  Moreover  the  revolution 
was  largely  wrecked  by  the  repeated  negotiations  which  resulted  from 
the  fear  lest  Mr.  Rhodes  should  attempt  to  hoist  the  Union  Jack  if  Mr. 
Kruger's  government  was  overthrown.  No  stronger  bulwark  could  he 
have  raised  against  a  British  invasion  than  a  generous  franchise!  But 
the  President  knew  on  the  other  hand  that  the  same  Outlanders  would 
finallv  stamp  out  the  conspiracy  in  which  he  and  Mr.  Steyn  and  Mr. 
fteitz  were  engaged.  What  President  Kruger  then  decided  to  do  was 
both  to  resist  any  possible  British  invasion  and  to  retain  the  power  of 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND,  605 

the  Government  in  the  hands  of  those  whom  he  calls  "my  burghers." 
(The  conference  with  Sir  Alfred  Milner  at  Bloemfontein  last  June  made 
this  perfectly  clear.)  Was  this  purpose  connected  or  was  it  not  con- 
nected with  that  other  "hope"  which  he  confessedly  has  cherished  for 
many  years  and  which  his  own  State  Secretary  has  so  eloquently  ex- 
pounded? Let  him  who  thinks  it  possible,  believe  that  President  Kruger 
has  kept  separate  compartments  of  his  mind  unconnected  with  one 
another,  in  which  he  has  pondered  and  planned,  in  the  first,  his  resist- 
ance of  the  claims  of  the  Outlanders;  in  the  second,  the  maintenance 
of  a  Boer  oligarchy  in  the  Transvaal;  in  the  third,  the  establishment  of 
a  Boer  Government  over  all  South  Africa,  and  in  the  fourth,  the  build- 
ing up  of  a  strong  military  system  in  the  Transvaal  and  the  Free  State. 
If  he  succeeded  in  thinking  of  these  various  aims  of  his  without  refer- 
ence to  one  another  and  without  making  the  one  in  any  wise  subservient 
to  the  other,  he  is  a  man  more  remarkable  than  anyone  has  yet  supposed 
him  to  be.  These  four  things  he  has  done  or  tried  to  do,  and  they  belong 
to  one  another. 

Second,  it  is  urged  that  the  Boers  cannot  possibly  have  looked  for- 
ward to  a  successful  war  with  Great  Britain  and  that  therefore  they 
have  never  cherished  or  prepared  for  the  mad  design  of  confronting 
Great  Britain  in  a  final  struggle  for  the  mastery  of  South  Africa.  In  the 
first  place  this  view  is  contradicted  flatly  by  the  very  boasts  of  the  Boers 
themselves.  There  can  be  no  doubt  whatsoever  that,  alike  in  the  Trans- 
vaal and  in  the  Orange  Free  State,  it  was  freely  used  as  an  argument 
for  war,  that  they  could  and  would  conquer  the  British  forces.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  Boer  representatives  in  Europe  and  elsewhere  have 
made  it  their  constant  boast  that  Great  Britain  was  engaged  in  what 
must  prove  a  disastrous  struggle.  That  is  to  say,  the  evidence  simply 
abounds  that  the  Boers  when  they  began  this  war  believed  that  they 
wrould  win.  Further,  this  point  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the 
Boers  had  hitherto  found  Great  Britain  always  unwilling  to'make  great 
military  exertions  in  relation  to  South  Africa.  More  than  once  she  has 
spent  a  large  sum  of  money  on  .an  expedition  and  then  quietly  given  up 
its  fruits.  They  had  seen  her  compel  the  Orange  Free  State  unwillingly 
to  accept  independence;  they  had  seen  her  eagerly  throw  Bechuanaland 
and  other  large  territories  into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch  Government  at 


606  THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND. 

Cape  Town;  they  had  seen  her  in  the  face  of  humiliating  defeat  restore 
self-government  to  the  Transvaal  itself;  they  had  seen  her  three  years 
later  give  up  what  now  the  world  sees  to  have  been  powers  of  inesti- 
mable value  over  the  Transvaal,  without  asking  a  single  benefit  in 
return,  giving  nearly  all  that  was  asked  because  President  Kruger  pled 
that  it  would  enable  him  to  govern  his  country  better.  The  Boers  had 
therefore  every  reason  for  supposing  that  Great  Britain  would  only  put 
a  moderate  army  in  the  field.  At  the  beginning  of  this  war  President 
Kruger  and  Mr.  Steyn  calculated,  and  knew  well,  that  with  60,000  men 
moving  rapidly  and  entrenching  thoroughly  they  could  resist  80,000  or 
even  100,000  British  soldiers.  It  had  not  been  heard  of  in  the  history 
of  the  world,  we  must  remember,  that  any  country  would  or  could  send 
200,000  soldiers  on  a  voyage  of  6,000  miles  upon  any  war,  however  im- 
portant. This  had  never  been  heard  of,  and  it  is  safe  to  say  the  Boers 
did  not  dream  it  to  be  possible.  Conscious  then  of  their  own  recent 
training  and  thorough  equipment  in  arms  and  ammunition  the  Boers 
felt  that  they  were  quite  a  match  for  any  army  which  it  seemed  in  the 
least  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Great  Britain  would  send. 

Lastly,  it  must  be  carefully  remembered  that  last  summer  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  the  supreme  choice 
in  all  their  history.  It  was  perfectly  evident  to  them  that  if  the  Boer 
element  should  become  a  minority  in  the  Transvaal  the  dream  of  "Africa 
for  the  Afrikanders"  in  the  Boer  meaning  of  that  cry  wduld  be  at  an 
end.  The  Government  would  pass  into  the  hands  of  Europeans,  the 
majority  of  whom,  while  they  would  not  betray  the  independence  of  the 
country,  would  always  refuse  to  engage  in  a  terrible  war  against  Great 
Britain  in  order  to  realize  a  Boer  ideal  with  which  they  had  no  sym- 
pathy. It  came  therefore  to  be  seen  that  the  Dutch  people  of  South 
Africa  must  either  this  year  or  within  a  short  period  choose  between 
giving  the  franchise  to  the  Outlanders  or  entering  upon  the  supreme 
contest.  It.would  have  been  better  for  the  Transvaal  if  she  could  have 
waited  until  Great  Britain  were  elsewhere  entangled  in  military  affairs, 
when  it  is  to  be  presumed  she  would  have  been  less  able  to  concentrate 
all  her  attention  and  all  her  forces  upori  South  Africa.  But  the  insist- 
ence of  Mr.  Chamberlain  and  of  Sir  Alfred  Milner  pressed  the  choice 
home  upon  the  Presidents  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  Free  State  and  made 


THE  AFRIKANDER  BOND.  607 

it  impossible  for  them  to  avoid  action  any  longer.  They  must  either 
begin  to  lose  their  grasp  of  power  or  win  it  once  for  all  on  the  battle- 
field. President  Kruger  and  President  Steyn  chose  the  latter. 

It  is  not,  of  course,  necessary  to  prove  the  reality  of  the  Boer  con- 
spiracy, as  we  have  described  it,  by  adducing  evidence  that  the  Dutch 
of  the  Cape  Colony  have  been  organized  for  active  war.  Happily  many 
thousands  of  them  would  infinite!}-  prefer  their  present  form  of  full  self- 
government  to  the  unknown  something  that  Mr.  Kruger  and  Mr.  Steyn 
and  Mr.  Leyds  and  Mr.  Reitz  would  fain  substitute  for  it.  But,  that 
many  individual  Dutchmen  in  the  Cape  Colony  h,ave  been  ready  to  stand 
by  the  conspirators  when  their  day  came  has  been  well  known  in  the 
Colony.  All  that  the  real  conspirators  at  Bloemfontein  and  Pretoria 
needed  was  the  moral  assurance  that  as  the  federal  armies  occupied 
colonial  territory  the  farmers  in  the  latter  would  join  their  ranks.  And 
as  events  have  shown,  they  have  not  been  disappointed.  If  Britain  had 
not  sent  an  army  larger  than  the  conspirators  ever  thought  possible, 
large  portions  of  the  colonies  would  have  been  occupied  and  more  of 
the  Cape  Dutch  would  have  joined  them.  Then  a  terrible  civil  war,  from 
which  the  Cape  natives  could  not  have  been  kept  out,  would  have 
deluged  the  colonies  in  blood. 

Many  bare  facts  have  been  set  forth  in  this  chapter.  If  they  carry 
fairly  and  clearly  the  interpretation  here  put  upon  them,  then  the  con- 
clusion is  obvious  that  Great  Britain  is  fighting  not  really  for  a  matter 
of  internal  legislation  at  Pretoria,  but  for  her  own  colonies,  her  own 
life,  against  a  gigantic  and  an  almost  successful  conspiracy  headed  by 
President  Kruger,  Mr.  Reitz,  Dr.  Leyds,  President  Steyn — and  some 
others. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

THINGS  were  evidently  reaching  a  crisis  and  some  kind  of  inter- 
vention on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  rapidly  became  inevitable. 
Accordingly,  on  May  5th,  Sir  Alfred  Milner  telegraphed  a 
dispatch  to  London  which  thoroughly  startled  the  British  authorities. 
The  following  are  the  most  important  sentences  from  that  dispatch: 
"The  right  of  Great  Britain  to  intervene  to  secure  fair  treatment  of  the 
Outlanders  was  fully  equal,"  he  said,  "to  her  supreme  interest  in  secur- 
ing it.  They  were  our  subjects;  only  in  very  rare  cases  had  they  been 
able  to  obtain  any  redress  by  the  ordinary  diplomatic  means.  The  true 
remedy  was  to  strike  at  the  root  of  all  these  evils.  The  case  for  inter- 
vention was  overwhelming.  The  spectacle  of  thousands  of  British  sub- 
jects kept  permanently  in  the  position  of  political  Helots,  constantly 
chafing  under  undoubted  grievances,  and  calling  vainly  to  Her  Majesty's 
government  for  redress,  steadily  undermines  the  influence  and  reputa- 
tion of  Great  Britain  and  the  respect  for  the  British  government  within 
the  Queen's  dominions.  A  mischievous  propaganda  in  favor  of  making 
the  Dutch  Republic  the  paramount  power  in  South  Africa  was  pro- 
ducing a  great  effect  upon  a  large  number  of  our  fellow  colonists.  Thou- 
sands of  the  Cape  Dutch  were  being  drawn  into  disaffection.  Nothing 
could  put  a  stop  to  this  propaganda,  except  some  striking  proof  of  the 
intention  of  Her  Majesty's  government  not  to  be  ousted  from  its  position 
in  South  Africa.  This  could  be  done  by  obtaining  for  the  Outlander  a 
fair  share  in  the  government  of  the  country." 

Some  phrases  in  this  paragraph  have  been  very  severely  criticised, 
but  the  paragraph  puts  the  case  very  powerfully  from  the  point  of.  view 
of  those  who  believe  that  the  treatment  of  the  Outlanders  was  entirely 
unworthy  of  a  civilized  government.  One  of  the  most  important  points 
in  Sir  Alfred  Milner's  message  is  undoubtedly  that  which  refers  to  the 
effect  being  produced  upon  the  Dutch  in  Cape  Colony  by  the  condition  of 

608 


W 

o 

K 

H 
E 

O 


CO 

o 

H 


O 


w 

u 
or 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  609 

• 
affairs  in  the  Transvaal.    Many,  both  in  the  colonies  and  in  England, 

have  formed  the  very  strong  opinion  that  the  unchecked  military  ag- 
grandisement of  the  Transvaal  and  its  sturdy  residents,  in  the  very 
midst  of  British  colonies  and  dependencies,  had  quickened  in  the  minds 
of  many  Dutchmen  in  other  parts  of  South  Africa  the  feeling  that  it 
would  not  be  impossible  to  make  the  Transvaal  the  leading  power  in 
South  Africa.  This  was,  as  our  history  may  have  shown,  not  the  first 
time  that  the  dream  of  an  absolute,  sovereign  and  internationally  recog- 
nized independence  seemed  on  the  point  of  becoming  a  practical  possi- 
bility for  the  Boer  republics  of  South  Africa.  This  seems  to  be  clearty 
indicated  in  Sir  Alfred  Milner's  dispatch,  and  many  feel  that  one  so 
careful  as  he  is  would  never  risk  a  momentous  statement  of  that  nature 
unless  his  evidence  was  fairly  complete  and  convincing.  He  says 
"thousands  of  the  Cape  Dutch  are  being  drawn  into  disaffection,"  and 
he  proposes  to  counteract  this  by  obtaining  for  the  outlanders  a  fair 
share  in  the  government  of  the  country. 

When  it  became  apparent  that  the  Governor  had  assumed  such  a 
position  and  had  evidently  begun  to  form  a  clear  policy  regarding  the 
further  procedure  of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa,  the  influential  men 
of  the  Afrikander  Bond  at  the  Cape  began  to  intervene.  Mr.  Hof meyr, 
the  most  powerful  personality  in  the.  Dutch  party  at  Cape  Town,  pro- 
posed to  Sir  Alfred  Milner  that  he  should  hold  a  conference  with  Presi- 
dent Kruger  at  Bloemfontein,  the  capital  of  the  Orange  Free  State. 
President  Steyn  of  the  Free  State  became-  an  intermediary  and  wel- 
comed the  proposed  convention,  which  finally  took  place,  beginning  on 
May  31st  and  concluding  on  June  5th,  1899. 

Before  we  attempt  to  describe  the  negotiations  concerning  the  fran- 
chise which  began  at  this  time  and  which  became  very  complicated,  it 
may  be  well  first  to  describe  the  conditions  of  naturalization  and  fran- 
chise as  they  have  existed  until  this  year  in  the  South  African  Republic. 
The  country  is  governed  by  two  legislative  chambers,  each  consisting  of 
twenty-seven  members.  The  lower  chamber  has  practically  no  power 
at  all,  as  any  law  which  is  passed  has  no  authority  until  it  is  passed  by 
the  first  chamber,  while  the  first  chamber  can  pass  laws  absolutely  on 
its  own  initiative  and  without  reference  to  the  lower  house.  Citizens  are 
only  eligible  who  have  fixed  property  and  who  profess  the  Protestant 


G10  DIPLOMACY  AND' THE   ULTIMATUM. 

• 

religion.  The  electors  whose  representatives  constitute  these  two 
chambers  are  themselves  divided  into  two  groups.  The  first  chamber  is 
elected  by  the  first-class  burghers.  These  comprise  all  male  white  resi- 
dents who  were  living  in  the  republic  before  May  29th,  1881,  or  who 
took  an  active  part  in  the  war  of  independence  in  1881,  the  native  war 
in  1894,  the  attack  upon  Jameson's  troops  in  1895-6,  and  all  other 
military  expeditions  and  battles  of  the  republic,  and  children  of  such 
persons  from  the  age  of  sixteen.  The  second-class  burghers  who  elect 
the  second  chamber  comprise  the  naturalized  male  alien  population  and 
children  from  the  age  of  sixteen.  The  process  of  becoming  a  full  citizen 
or  first-class  burgher  is  divided  into  two  stages,  first  that  of  naturaliza- 
tion, which  may  be  obtained  after  two  years'  residence,  after  registra- 
tion on  the  district  books,  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  paying  the 
sum  of  two  pounds  ($10.00).  Those  who  have  passed  through  naturali- 
zation may,  after  twTelve  years,  receive  the  franchise,  but  only  by  special 
resolution  of  the  President  and  Executive.  The  sons  of  aliens,  born  in 
the  republic,  if  they  register  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  may  become  natur- 
alized at  eighteen,  and  receive  the  rights  of  first-class  burghers  after 
ten  years  more  by  special  resolution.  The  President  and  the 
Commandant-General  are  of  course  elected  by  the  first  class  burghers 
only.  Consideration  of  these  conditions  makes  it  clear  that  no  man  can 
become  an  enfranchised  citizen  of  this  republic  within  fourteen  years 
of  his  settlement  in  the  country,  and  even  then  his  enfranchisement  de- 
pends upon  a  special  resolution  of  the  Government  itself.  That  is  to  say, 
in  a  country  comprising  something  like  100,000  foreigners  about  30,000 
retain  the  privilege  of  choosing  out  of  the  remainder  those  who  shall 
become  voters. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  glance  at  certain  statements  which 
are  made  on  each  side  of  this  bitter  controversy  between  the  Boer  gov- 
ernment and  the  British,  regarding  the  relation  of  the  Outlanders  to 
the  franchise.  It  is  urged  on  behalf  of  the  Boer  government  that  every 
country  has  the  right  to  make  its  own  laws  of  naturalization  and  deter- 
mine the  conditions  of  the  franchise,  that  these  foreigners  were  not 
invited  and  their  presence  was  not  even  desired  by  the  Boers  to  whom 
the  country  belonged,  that,  therefore,  if  they  fopnd  the  conditions  of 
life  there  to  be  distasteful  it  was  always  open  to  them  to  leave;  it  is 


DIPLOMACY  AND   THE   ULTIMATUM.  611 

further  urged  that  many  of  the  British  Outlanders  openly  avowed  their 
dislike  for  that  part  of  the  conditions  of  naturalization  which  demanded 
not  only  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Transvaal  government,  but  the 
forswearing  of  their  previous  allegiance  to  Queen  Victoria,  that  if  they 
did  not  wish  to  give  up  their  British  citizenship  they  could  not  complain 
at  having  no  vote  among  Transvaal  citizens  and  that  no  country  would 
admit  as  citizens  those  who  avowed  that  they  retained  their  allegiance 
to  another  power;  it  was  still  further  urged  that  in  spite  of  the  actual 
trouble  which  had  arisen  between  these  Outlanders  and  the  Boer  gov- 
ernment the  British  authorities  had  no  right  to  interfere,  inasmuch 
as  by  the  London  convention  they  had  bound  themselves  not  to  take 
any  part  or  assume  any  authority  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Trans- 
vaal government,  and  further  that  in  the  article  by  which  the  Boers 
promised  fair  and  equitable  treatment  to  British  subjects  this  question 
of  the  franchise  was  not  included  in  the  list  of  matters  named. 

These,  no  doubt,  are  felt  to  be  by  their  advocates  powerful  arguments 
against  the  attitude  assumed  by  Great  Britain;  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
no  less  powerful  counter  arguments  are  adduced  which  may  be  sum- 
marized briefly  as  follows : 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  urged  that  the  Outlanders  are  in  the  Trans- 
vaal by  exactly  the  same  right  as  the  Boers  themselves.  The  Boers 
arrived  about  the  year  1850;  the  gold  seeking  Outlanders  began  to 
arrive  in  small  numbers  from  about  the  year  1875,  and  in  still  larger 
numbers  from  the  year  1885.  At  this  present  date,  therefore,  some  of 
the  Outlanders  have  been  half  as  long  in  the  Transvaal  as  the  oldest 
Dutch  inhabitants,  and  many  of  them  have  been  quite  as  long  in  the 
country  as  a  third  of  the  Dutch  who  possess  the  vote.  The  Boers  entered 
the  country  because  it  suited  them  and  their  purposes  in  life,  the  Out- 
landers entered  for  the  same  reasons,  and  the  motives  of  the  former  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  excelled  those  of  the  latter  in  any  high  degree. 
Still  further  it  is  urged  under  this  point,  that  when  President  Kruger 
and  his  fellow  delegates  were  in  England,  in  the  end  of  1883,  some  capi- 
talists approached  the  President  and  asked  him  whether  if  they  pro- 
ceeded to  invest  their  money  in  the  Transvaal  in  the  development  of 
mines  their  work  would  be  welcomed  and  supported.  It  is  said  that  the 
President  turned  with  something  like  indignation  upon  them  and  asked 


012  DIPLOMACY  AXD   THE   ULTIMATUM. 

them  what  kind  of  people  they  thought  that  he  and  his  people  were. 
Of  course  they  would  be  welcomed,  he  assured  them.  It  was  after  this 
interview  and  in  the  light  of  this  strong  assurance  that  men  who  had 
held  back  proceeded  to  invest  their  capital  in  the  projects  which  so 
speedily  transformed  the  face  of  history  in  that  republic.  President 
Kruger  published  his  open  invitation  to  foreigners  to  settle  in  the 
Transvaal  in  the  London  Times  in  April,  1884! 

In  the  second  place  it  is  urged  by  the  supporters  of  the  British 
that  when  the  earliest  Outlanders  arrived  in  the  Transvaal,  encouraged 
by  Kruger  himself,  and  sheltered,  as  they  imagined,  by  the  London  con- 
vention, the  terms  of  naturalization  and  franchise  were  simple  and 
reasonable.  When,  however,  President  Kruger  and  his  party  found 
that  the  Outlanders  were  invading  the  country  by  tens  of  thousands 
instead  of  by  scores  as  hitherto,  they  took  alarm  at  the  prospect  of  so 
speedily  losing  their  grasp  on  the  reins  of  government  and  accordingly 
altered  the  terms  of  the  franchise  and  naturalization.  Under  the  terms 
of  the  new  law  no  foreigner  could  become  naturalized  before  he  had 
been  two  years  in  the  country.  At  the  time  of  naturalization  he  must 
take  the  oath,  thus  becoming  a  loyal  citizen  of  the  Transvaal,  and 
ceasing  to  be  a  citizen  either  of  Great  Britain  or  of  any  other  country. 
But  even  when  he  had  become  thus  naturalized  he  could  not  receive  the 
franchise  for  other  twelve  years  and,  at  the  end  of  the  twelve  years, 
only  as  the  upper  chamber  of  the  Volksraad  passed  favorably  upon  the 
case.  This  means  that  a  would-be  citizen  of  the  Transvaal  must  for- 
swear his  previous  citizenship  for  the  bare  chance  that  at  the  end  of 
twelve  years  he  might  be  elected  into  the  list  of  electors.  It  is  urged 
that  this  method  was  invented  in  order  to  make  the  process  of  becoming 
citizens  of  the  South  African  Republic  as  hard  and  repellant  as  possible, 
and  that  it  is  a  poor  trick  of  argument  by  which  the  Outlanders  who 
shrank  from  this  prolonged  suspense  are  reproached  for  being  unwilling 
to  take  the  oath  on  these  conditions. 

It  is  urged  in  the  third  place  that  the  methods  employed  to  keep 
British  subjects  and  other  foreigners  in  a  condition  of  dependence  and 
subordination  towards  the  Dutch  minority  were  in  defiance  of  that 
article  of  the  London  convention  by  which  these  subjects  were  prom- 
ised fair  treatment.  It  is  true  that  the  franchise  was  not  mentioned 


DIPLOMACY  AND   THE   ULTIMATUM.  613 

among  those  matters  in  which  this  fair  treatment  was  to  be  manifested; 
but  it  is  felt  by  the  supporters  of  the  British  that  inasmuch  as,  at  the 
time  of  the  convention,  the  conditions  of  the  franchise  were  perfectly 
reasonable,  and  there  was  no  prospect  of  their  alteration,  and,  inas- 
much as  the  possession  of  the  franchise  underlies  the  whole  life  of 
freedom  and  prosperity  enjoyed  by  the  leading  European  countries,  the 
practical  denial  of  this  franchise  constitutes  a  real  instance  of  unfair 
discrimination  against  these  foreigners  in  the  government  of  that  coun- 
try, and  therefore  is  a  real  breach  of  that  spirit  of  justice  and  equity 
which  was  intended  to  find  expression  and  security  in  that  article  of  the 
London  convention. 

Those  who  feel  that  the  weight  of  the  argument  lies  with  the 
points  above  stated  on  behalf  of  the  Boers  will  of  course  conclude 
that  in  the  present  quarrel  Great  Britain  is  fundamentally  wrong; 
while  those  who  feel  that  most  weight  attaches  to  the  set  of  argu- 
ments last  described  will  feel  that  President  Kruger  is  defending  not 
his  land  against  a  foreign  invader,  but  rather  his  party  against  a 
victory  of  the  majority  of  the  civilized  inhabitants  of  his  own  country. 

Sir  Alfred  Milner,  as  we  have  seen  above,  made  up  his  niind  that  the 
first  thing  to  do  was  to  obtain  some  one  concession  from  President 
Kruger  which  should  lead  to  the  gradual  removal  of  the  other  wrongs 
from  which  the  Outlanders  undoubtedly  suffered.  In  a  country  fairly 
governed  under  a  parliamentary  system  the  fundamental  condition  of 
freedom,  justice  and  progress  is  the  possession  by  the  people  and  the 
unhindered  exercise  by  them  of  the  franchise. 

Sir  Alfred  accordingly  decided  not  to  urge  any  immediate  decision 
on  any  other  matters  however  important,  but  to  strive  for  the  granting 
of  the  franchise  to  the  Outlanders.  It  must  be  evident  from  perusal 
of  the  conditions  described  above  that  it  was  practically  impossible  for 
any  but  a  very  small  minority  of  the  Outlanders  to  obtain  the  franchise. 
If  only  President  Kruger  would  agree  to  an  alteration  of  the  conditions 
which  should  give  the  Outlanders  hope  of  progress,  and  some  feeling  of 
legislative  influence  without  the  danger  of  their  outvoting  the  Boers, 
the  worst  of  their  political  grievances  would  be  removed  and  the  way 
paved  for  the  further  gradual  removal  of  the  rest  in  years  to  come. 
Accordingly  the  Governor  proposed  to  Mr.  Kruger  that  he  should  allow 


614  DIPLOMACY  AND   THE   ULTIMATUM. 

the  Outlanders  the  full  franchise  after  a  residence  of  five  years  in  the 
country  and  that  Johannesburg,  although  containing  more  adult  whites 
than  all  the  rest  of  the  country,  should  have  four  seats  in  the  Volksraad 
out  of  twenty-seven.  The  venerable  President  could  not,  of  course, 
and  perhaps  was  hardly  expected  to  agree  to  this  liberal  policy  all  at 
once.  After  considerable  hesitation  he  was  persuaded  to  propose 
another  scheme.  Accordingly  he  introduced  the  following  scheme: 
The  Outlanders  should  receive  the  full  franchise  seven  years  after  their 
arrival  in  the  country,  and  five  years  after  their  naturalization.  That 
seemed  a  very  great  effort  to  meet  Sir  Alfred  Milner  half  way.  But, 
alas!  attached  to  this  was  a  long  list  of  conditions  which  so  complicated 
the  matter  that  it  was  certain  many  years  must  pass  before  more  than 
a  very  few  Outlanders  could  possibly  possess  the  franchise.  Even  the 
first  stages  of  naturalization  required  a  complicated  system  of  registra- 
tion and  the  fulfillment  of  vaguely  stated  conditions  difficult  of  inter- 
pretation and  application.  Five  years  after  naturalization  the  granting 
of  the  franchise  would  in  every  case  be  dependent  upon  the  fulfilment  of 
the  many  other  conditions,  such  as  continuous  registration,  continuous 
residence,  and  after  all  the  Volksraad  must  vote  in  every  case.  It  is 
perfectly  evident  that  the  shrewd  and  wily  President  was  striving  to 
give  as  little  as  possible  while  seeming  to  give  much. 

When  he  was  discussing  some  of  the  other  matters  outstanding 
between  the  Transvaal  and  the  British  government  he  fell  back  once 
more  upon  a  principle  on  which  the  Boers  have  from  the  beginning 
acted  in  relation  to  the  British  government,  namely,  that  matters  in 
dispute  could  be  settled  if  Great  Britain  would  grant  a  quid  pro  quo, 
generally  in  the  form  of  an  extra  slice  of  territory  taken  from  adjacent 
native  chiefs.  On  this  occasion  the  President  hinted  that  he  could  not 
face  the  burghers  unless  he  could  point  to  something  which  had  been 
given  to  them.  He  chiefly  desired  the  gift  of  Swaziland,  a  magnificent 
county  on  his  eastern  border,  which  would  give  him  access  to  the  sea; 
he  also  pressed  for  a  treaty  of  arbitration,  without,  however,  naming 
any  details.  It  was  in  vain.  Sir  Alfred  stuck  close  to  his  principle 
that  his  proposal  was  not  that  the  Boers  should  give  anything  to  Great 
Britain,  but  peace  and  justice  to  their  own  people,  and  that  they  could 
only  do  this  by  giving  the  franchise  on  conditions  which  would  satisfy 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  615 

the  Outlanders  without  overwhelming  the  Boers  and  ousting  them  from 
power.  Sir  Alfred,  at  the  same  time,  scrupulously  avoided  the  appear- 
ance of  interfering  with  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Transvaal  beyond 
making  his  suggestions  regarding  the  franchise. 

The  Conference  ended  without  any  definite,  result.  President  Kruger 
returned  to  Pretoria  to  introduce  the  Bill  which  Sir  Alfred  Milner  had 
pronounced  to  be  inadequate  to  meet  the  case.  Even  strong  sympa- 
thizers with  the  Transvaal  Government  felt  that  he  must  modify  the 
numerous,  absurd  and  perplexing  conditions  attaching  to  the  Bill.  Ulti- 
mately Mr.  Kruger  did  make  considerable  alterations.  But  this  policy 
of  his  had  produced  a  bad  impression.  It  suggested  that  he  was  not 
acting  sincerely,  that  even  now  he  was  trying  to  give  without  giving, 
to  appease  the  Imperial  Government  without  making  any  real  and 
effective  change  in  the  position  of  the  Outlanders.  If  President  Kruger 
was  insincere,  Mr.  Chamberlain  appeared  to  be  no  less  irritating  by  the 
positive  tone  of  certain  public  utterances  in  which  he  managed  to  con- 
vey the  impression  that  he  was  determined  at  all  costs  to  make  the 
Transvaal  Government  give  way  to  his  demands.  Neither  of  these  two 
diplomatists  aided  the  cause  of  peace  by  his  course  of  conduct.  For  in 
diplomacy  both  insincerity  and  bluntness  may  seem  to  hinder  the  solu- 
tion of  a  difficulty  and  to  hasten  an  international  catastrophe. 

After  the  conference  at  Bloemfontein  the  Transvaal  Government 
made  another  effort  to  persuade  Great  Britain  to  agree  to  a  scheme  of 
arbitration.  The  proposals  sketched  by  Mr.  Reitz  were,  however,  very 
vague  just  at  jthe  important  points.  For  example,  he  proposed  in  one 
article  "that  no  matters  or  differences  of  trifling  importance  shall  be 
submitted  to  arbitration,"  and  a  little  later  "that  each  shall  have  the 
right  to  reserve  and  exclude  points  which  appear  to  it  to  be  too  import- 
ant to  be  submitted  to  arbitration!"  This  idea  of  an  arbitration  scheme 
was  not  absolutely  ruled  out  of  consideration  by  Sir  Alfred  Milner.  But 
he  clung  with  pertinacity  to  his  one  principle  of  action,  that  the  griev- 
ances of  the  Outlanders  must  be  remedied  first.  A  calmer  atmosphere 
would  then  be  created  which  would  be  more  favorable  to  the  devising 
of  a  scheme  of  arbitration. 

On  July  20  the  Bill  proposed  by  President  Kruger  was  passed 
the  Yolksraad  after  sundry  important  alterations  had  been 


GIG  DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

made.  It  offered  the  Franchise  seven  years  after  notice  had  beet  given 
of  the  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  and  five  years  after  the  oath  of 
naturalization  had  been  taken.  A  man  was  still  liable  to  spend  five 
years  after  he  had  given  up  his  former  citizenship  without  enjoying  the 
privileges  of  his  new  citizenship.  And  even  then,  he  wras  still  left 
dependent  upon  the  decision  of  the  State  Attorney  or  the  Executive 
Council  as  to  whether  any  "legal  obstacle  appears"  to  his  reception  into 
full  burghership  of  the  first  class.  At  a  later  date  in  the  same  month, 
it  was  resolved  to  grant  five  seats  in  all,  out  of  thirty-one,  or  four  out 
of  thirty-two,  to  the  mining  communities  of  Barberton  and  Johannes- 
burg. The  exact  number  was  uncertain. 

On  July  27,  Mr.  Chamberlain  sent  a  long  and  important  despatch, 
in  which  he  attributed  the  responsibility  for  "party  feeling  and  race 
hatred,"  which  the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  had 
deplored,  to  the  policy  of  that  very  Government  itself,  in  that  it  "alone, 
of  all  the  States  of  South  Africa,  has  deliberately  placed  one  of  the  two 
wrhite  races  in  a  position  of  political  inferiority  to  the  other."  The 
British  Government  is  responsible  and  under  obligation  to  take  action 
in  this  matter  for  three  reasons,  he  says,  and  these  are  of  great  import- 
ance for  understanding  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain.  First,  he  names, 
"the  ordinary  obligations  of  a  civilized  power  to  protect  its  subjects  in 
a  foreign  country  against  injustice;"  second,  "the  special  duty  arising 
in  this  case  from  the  position  of  Her  Majesty  as  the  paramount  power 
in  South  Africa .;  third,  the  exceptional  responsibility  arising  out  of  the 
Conventions  which  regulate  the  relations  between  the  Government  of 
the  South  African  Republic  and  that  of  Her  Majesty."  Mr.  Chamberlain 
points  out  that  when  the  Conference  was  held  preliminary  to  the  Pre- 
toria Convention  of  1881,  Mr.  Kruger  pledged  his  country  to  give  "equal 
protection  for  everybody"  and  "equal  privileges."  He  explicitly  said  on 
that  occasion,  "We  make  no  difference  so  far  as  burgher  rights  are  con- 
cerned." The  British  Government  had  every  reason,  even  in  granting  the 
London  Convention  of  1884,  to  believe  that  "the  conditions  of  equity  be- 
tween the  white  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal"  would  continue.  On  the 
contrary,  they  had  been  completely  reversed.  In  dealing  with  the  new 
Franchise  Law,  Mr.  Chamberlain  points  out  that  there  is  still  much 
uncertainty  regarding  certain  of  its  provisions  as  well  as  regarding 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  617 

the  real  effect  of  its  operation  upon  the  righteous  claims  of  the  Out- 
landers.  He  therefore  proposes  that  a  joint-commission  should  be  formed, 
consisting  of  delegates  from  each  Government,  to  discuss  the  working 
of  the  law  and  report  the  result  of  their  consultation  and  submit  their 
recommendations.  The  object  of  this  proposal  was,  on  August  2,  ex- 
plained to  the  Transvaal  Government  by  Sir  A.  Milner  as  being  to 
discover  whether  the  Outlander  population  would  "be  given  immediate 
and  substantial  representation"  under  the  new  law.  It  was  manifestly 
useless  to  attempt  a  solution  of  the  problem  by  means  of  a  law  which 
would  leave  the  actual  and  pressing  bitterness  to  last  several  years 
longer  in  hope  that  it  would  gradually  die  down.  If,  as  the  British 
Government  maintained,  these  citizens  had  been  treated  unjustly,  then, 
it  was  felt  the  remedy  of  their  ills  should  be  at  once  and  definitely 
effective. 

The  announcement  of  this  proposal  of  a  joint  Commission  of  Inquiry 
produced  alarm  at  Pretoria,  and  steps  were  at  once  taken  to  make  new 
proposals.  The  British  agent  at  Pretoria  held  very  earnest  conferences 
with  the  State  Attorney  of  the  Transvaal  Government.  He  urged  that 
the  situation  was  most  critical,  and  that  the  British  Government  could 
not  now  take  any  steps  backward.  Their  actions  hitherto  constituted 
pledges  to  the  Outlanders  that  they  would  secure  attention  to  their 
demands.  The  result  of  these  conversations  at  Pretoria  came  in  a 
remarkable  scheme  from  the  Transvaal  Government,  which  was  made 
on  August  15.  According  to  this  new  plan,  Mr.  Reitz,  the  State  Secre- 
tary, proposed  "a  five  years'  retrospective  franchise,"  ten  representatives 
from  the  goldfields  constituencies  in  a  house  of  thirty-six  members, 
equality  of  the  new  with  the  old  burghers  in  election  of  the  State  Presi- 
dent and  the  Commandant-General.  The  Transvaal  Government  further 
expressed  willingness  "to  take  into  consideration  friendly  suggestions 
regarding  the  details  of  the  Franchise  Law."  It  is  safe  to  say  that  if 
this  proposal  had  been  made  in  June — for  it  is  practically  the  equiv- 
alent of  Sir  A.  Milner's  minimum  demands,  and  even  goes  further — 
the  negotiations  would  have  then  ended  peaceably  and  the  Outlanders 
would  by  this  time  have  had  a  substantial  share  in  the  government  of 
the  country.  But  alas!  the  proposals  came  when  both  sides  had  been 
roused;  when  people  were  openly  talking  about  war;  when  the  pride 


618  DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

of  both  countries  had  been  aroused.  In  such  circumstances  diplomacy 
is  more  than  an  affair  of  cold  words  and  clear-cut  paragraphs.  The 
words  take  the  color  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  paragraphs  pulsate  with 
confused  and  confusing  suggestions  and  suspicions.  The  Transvaal 
Government  made  the  proposals  described  above,  with  three  most  im- 
portant conditions  attached.  On  these  conditions  they  kept  their  eyes 
fixed,  and  determined  to  shape  their  course  solely  by  Mr.  Chamberlain's 
reply  to  them.  The  first  of  these  conditions  was  as  follows:  "(a)  That 
Her  Majesty's  Government  will  agree  that  the  present  intervention 
shall  not  form  a  precedent  for  future  similar  action,  and  that  in  future 
no  interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Republic  will  take  place." 
Mr.  Chamberlain's  answer  to  this  was,  of  course,  that  the  British  Gov- 
ernment hoped  that  by  "the  fulfilment  of  the  promises  made  and  the 
just  treatment"  of  the  Outlanders,  no  intervention  would  be  rendered 
necessary;  but  inasmuch  as  the  Colonial  Secretary  had  avowedly 
taken  all  his  action  in  intervening  "under  the  Conventions/*  it  would 
have  been  virtually  confessing  that  he  had  no  right  to  intervene  now 
if  he  gave  the  absolute  promise  never  to  do  so  again.  He  held  that  the 
Conventions  covered  this  case,  and  would  compel  similar  action  if  a 
similar  case  recurred.  Besides,  the  British  Government  had  held  that 
in  this  instance  they  were  protecting  their  subjects  from  injustice  in  a 
foreign  country,  and  no  civilized  power  could  divest  itself  of  the  ordin- 
ary obligation  to  do  so.  The  second  condition  was:  "(b)  That  Her 
Majesty's  Government  will  not  further  insist  on  the  assertion  of  the 
suzerainty,  the  controversy  on  the  subject  being  allowed  tacitly  to 
drop."  This  referred  to  a  long  discussion  in  long  despatches  earlier 
in  the  year  in  which  Mr.  Reitz  had  very  ably  argued  that  Great  Britain 
had  now  no  form  of  suzerainty  over  the  Transvaal,  referring  to  the 
London  Convention  (1884)  and  Lord  Derby's  assertion  that  "suzerainty" 
had  been  withdrawn ;  Mr.  Chamberlain  claiming  that  he  agreed  with  the 
same,  Lord  Derby's  speech  in  the  House  of  Lords,  that,  while  the  word 
was  dropped,  the  substance  was  retained.  Mr.  Reitz  had  at  last  founded 
his  claim  regarding  the  absolute  non-existence  of  suzerainty  upon  this 
one  fundamental  assertion,  that  the  South  African  Republic,  independ- 
ently of  the  language  of  any  or  all  Conventions,  is  a  "sovereign,  interna- 
tional State,"  All  this  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  then  most  strenuously  cle- 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  619 

nied,  and  he  could  not  now  in  August  agree  even  to  the  appearance  of 
modifying  his  position  on  that  fundamental  question.  The  third  con- 
dition (c)  was  that  a  plan  of  arbitration  should  be  at  once  set  on  foot,  to 
come  into  operation  as  soon  as  the  proposed  Franchise  Bill  should  become 
law.  To  this  Mr.  Chamberlain  heartily  agreed.  He  added,  unfortunately, 
an  irritating  paragraph  about  "other  matters  of  difference"  which  would 
have  to  be  settled  concurrently  with  those  now  under  discussion,  and 
which  were  not  proper  subjects  for  reference  to  arbitration. 

Mr.  Reitz  of  course  concluded  naturally  that  the  rejection  of  even 
one  of  the  conditions  which  he  had  described  as  essential,  amounted  to 
rejection  of  the  entire  proposal,  and  involved  recurrence  to  the  discus- 
sions which  preceded  it.  The  Transvaal  Government  considered  that 
the  proposal  had  lapsed,  but  was  surprised,  it  "could  never  have  antici- 
pated that  the  answer  of  Her  Majest3^'s  Government  to  their  proposal 
would  be  unfavorable."  It  now  proposed  to  go.  back  to  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain's plan  of, appointing  a  joint-commission  to  consult  regarding  the 
operation  of  the  seven  years'  Franchise  Law,  which  was  now  passing 
into  actual  operation.  But  this,  in  a  despatch  dated  September  9,  the 
Colonial  Secretary  declined  to  do.  This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  steps 
at  which  his  procedure  is  most  open  to  criticism.  It  looks  as  if  the  pro- 
posal which  he  made  on  August  19  he  might  have  accepted  when  it  was 
made  to  him  again  on  September  9.  He  gave  two  reasons  for  declining 
to  retrace  any  steps  in  the  controversy:  first,  that  he  was  now  convinced 
that  the  law  as  passed  would  not  "secure  the  immediate  and  substantial 
representation"  of  the  Outlanders,  and  needed  no  commission  now  to 
consult  over  the  matter;  and,  second,  that  the  Transvaal  Government, 
having  "themselves  recognized  that  their  previous  offer  might  be  with 
advantage  enlarged,  and  that  the  independency  of  the  South  African 
Republic  would  be  thereby  in  no  way  impaired,"  progress  ought  to  be 
made  in  that  direction.  Mr.  Chamberlain  therefore  now  suggested  that 
the  Transvaal  Government  might-  repeat  this  last  offer  of  a  five 
years'  franchise  (the  Bloemfontein  minimum)  without  the  conditions 
attached!  This  despatch  produced  a  very  strong  protest  from  Mr. 
Reitz,  who,  arguing  the  matter  in  detail,  wished  to  show  that  his  Gov- 
ernment had  in  their  last  proposal  gone  beyond  the  line  of  safety  to  their 
Republic;  but  they  had  undertaken  the  risk  in  order  to  maintain  peace, 


620  DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

lie  further  argued  that  the  British  Government  had  no  right  to  propose 
that  they  should  agree  to  the  five  years'  franchise  without  the  con- 
ditions which  to  their  minds  alone  made  the  concession  safe;  and  he  re- 
turns to  the  proposal  made  by  the  Imperial  Government  for  a  conference 
by  Joint  Commission  while  deprecating  the  "making  new  proposals  more 
difficult  for  this  Government,  and  imposing  new  conditions."  He  con- 
cludes with  a  strong  and  pathetic  plea  for  a  return  to  the  idea  of  "a  Joint 
Commission  as  first  proposed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies 
in  the  Imperial  Parliament,  and  subsequently  proposed  to  this  Govern- 
ment and  accepted  by  it." 

To  this  Mr.  Chamberlain  replied  on  September  22  in  a  very  import- 
ant despatch,  practically  the  last  which  the  rush  of  events  allowed  him 
to  send.  He  most  solemnly  assured  the  Transvaal  Government  that 
the  British  Government  had  "no  desire  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the 
independence  of  the  South  African  Republic,  provided  that  the  con- 
ditions on  wrhich  it  was  granted  are  honorably  observed  in  the  spirit 
and  in  the  letter,  and  they  have  offered  as  part  of  a  general  settlement 
to  give  a  complete  guarantee  against  any  attack  upon  that  independ- 
ence." He  repeats  that  the  British  Government  had  claimed  no  rights  of 
interference  in  the  internal  affairs  of  the  Transvaal,  except  those  con- 
ferred by  the  Conventions  and  those  possessed  by  every  neighboring 
Government  for  the  protection  of  its  subjects  and  its  adjoining  pos- 
sessions. The  despatch  concluded  with  the  announcement  that  as  the 
protracted  negotiations  of  nearly  four  months  had  failed,  the  British 
Government  felt  "compelled  to  consider  the  situation  afresh  and  to 
formulate  their  own  proposals  for  a  final  settlement  of  the  issues  which 
have  been  created  in  South  Africa  by  the  policy  constantly  followed 
for  many  years  by  the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic." 

During  the  weeks  which  preceded  this  communication  there  had  been 
passing  between  the  respective  Governments  other  very  important 
despatches  regarding  the  movements  of  troops  which  were  taking  place. 
So  early  as  the  month  of  June,  the  inhabitants  of  Johannesburg  were 
aware  of  active  movements  among  the  Boers  which  indicated  a  prepara- 
tion for  war.  So  loud  and  boastful  was  the  talk  and  so  definite  the 
steps  taken  by  the  Boers  that,  while  some  Outlanders  called  it  "bluff" 
and  did  not  believe  President  Kruger  would  actually  fight,  others 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  021 

believed  the  war  to  be  then  inevitable  and  made  arrangements  for  the 
removal  of  their  families.  As  the  British  Government  only  maintained 
comparatively  small  garrisons  in  South  Africa,  it  became  expedient  to 
strengthen  those  quietly.  This  work  was  going  on,  on  a  small  scale,  in 
July.  There  was  as  yet  no  attempt  to  throw  an  army  in  South  Africa 
which  would  be  capable  of  invading  the  Transvaal.  That  would  have 
been  a  serious  and  unfriendly  measure,  inconsistent  with  the  attitude 
of  the  Government  even  up  to  Mr.  Chamberlain's  last  despatch  as  quoted 
above.  But  it  was  the  plain  duty  of  the  Government  to  strengthen  its 
defensive  position  at  those  points  which  were  most  exposed  to  attack. 
These  were  Natal  and  the  portion  of  Cape  Colony  near,  and  including, 
Kimberley.  On  August  15th  President  Steyn  of  the  Orange  Free  State 
telegraphed  to  Sir  Alfred  Milner  to  inquire  if  it  was  true  that  Imperial 
troops  were  being  placed  on  the  southern  borders  of  the  Free  State. 
The  answer  of  course  was  that  the  "report  was  entirely  unfounded."  Sir 
Alfred  added,  "I,  on  my  part,  receive  many  reports,  which  seem  to  be  of  a 
much  more  substantial  character,  with  reference  to  the  importation  of 
large  quantities  of  munitions  of  war  into  the  Orange  Free  State 
and  the  general  arming  of  the  burghers."  This,  he  said,  would  warrant 
"a  defensive  movement"  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government,  but  none 
such  was  in  contemplation.  To  this  President  Steyn  made  a  curious 
reply,  in  which  he  first  denied  that  unusual  military  movements  or  pur- 
chases were  going  on  in  the  Free  State,  and  then  explained  that  the 
"war  ammunition"  which  had  been  placed  in  possession  of  the  burghers 
was  intended  to  reassure  the  people  "against  sudden  attacks  either  from 
natives  or  from  freebooters,  numerous  reports  of  which  were,  and  are,  in 
circulation!"  The  President  adds:  "I  trust,  nevertheless,  that  Your 
Excellency  and  Her  Majesty's  Ministers  do  not  attach  any  credence  to 
the  rash  and  malicious  reports  which  are  brought  into  circulation  prin- 
cipally by  a  certain  section  of  the  press  that  designs  exist  for  making 
an  attack  on  the  adjacent  British  Colonies.  I  wish  to  give  Your  Excel- 
lency the  assurance  that  such  reports  are  devoid  of  all  foundation." 
On  September  19th  Sir  Alfred  Milner  wired  to  President  Steyn  to  ex- 
plain that  the  movement  of  a  regiment  to  Kimberley  and  to  guard  the 
Orange  River  Bridge  was  "in  no  way  directed  against  the  Orange  Free 
State,  nor  is  it  due  to  any  anxiety  as  to  the  intention  of  the  latter."  He 


622  DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

adds  that,  while  the  Imperial  Government  still  hoped  for  a  peaceful 
settlement  with  the  Transvaal,  they  did,  in  case  of  disappointment,  ex- 
pect the  Free  State  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality.  In  return  they 
would  "give  formal  assurances  that  in  that  case  the  integrity  of  the 
territory  of  the  Orange  Free  State  will  under  all  circumstances  be 
strictly  respected."  President  Steyn  replied  in  a  letter  of  distrust  and 
resentment.  Because  Kimberley  and  the  railway  line  which  needed 
to  be  protected  were  near  the  Free  State  western  border  he  felt  that  the 
movement  of  troops  there  might  be  considered  by  his  burghers  as  a 
menace  to  this  state.  "If  unwished-for  developments  should  arise  there- 
from, the  responsibility  will  not  rest  with  this  Government."  Still  later 
it  was  explained  that  the  movements  of  British  troops  had  been  made 
necessary  by  the  policy  of  the  other  Government  which  had  trans- 
formed the  Transvaal  "into  a  permanent  armed  camp." 

During  the  months  of  August  and  September  extensive  and  active 
preparations  for  war  were  being  made  in  the  Transvaal.  The  "com- 
mandeering" of  money  and  property  from  Outlanders  was  insisted  on. 
It  wras  only  after  a  formal  protest  from  the  British  Agent  at  Pretoria 
that  the  Transvaal  Government  desisted  from  forcing  British  citizens 
to  take  up  arms  against  their  own  Government.  As  the  weeks  passed 
the  excitement  grew.  At  last  the  order  went  out  that  all  foreigners 
must  leave  the  country  except  those  who  received  formal  permission  to 
remain.  The  railways  became  congested  as  crowds  of  civilians  wrere 
packed  into  all  kinds  of  cars  and  trucks  for  their  long  and  miserable 
journey.  The  Boers  showed  themselves  merciless. 

All  uncertainty  was  ended  when,  in  the  month  of  October,  1890,  Mr. 
Reitz  sent  the  ultimatum  of  the  Transvaal  Government  to  Sir  Alfred 
Milner.  The  despatch  begins  by  reciting  the  history  of  the  controversy, 
denying  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to  intervene  with  regard  to  the 
political  standing  of  her  citizens  in  the  Transvaal  since  that  was  not 
named  in  Article  14  of  the  London  Convention.  Then  it  complains  of 
"an  increase  of  troops  on  a  large  scale",  which  were  stationed  on  the 
borders  of  the  Republic.  This  had  created  "an  intolerable  condition  of 
things,"  which  the  Transvaal  Government,  for  the  sake  not  only  of  that 
Republic,  but  also  of  all  South  Africa,  desired  to  end  as  soon  as  possible. 

It  makes  four  demands:     (a)  that  every  dispute  be  settled  by  arbi- 


DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM.  623 

tration;  (b)  that  troops  on  the  borders  of  the  Republic  "be  instantly 
withdrawn;"  (c)  that  all  reinforcements  which  had  arrived  since  June  1, 
1899,  "be  removed  from  South  Africa  within  a  reasonable  time;"  (d)  that 
troops  then'on  the  high  seas  be  not  landed  in  South  Africa.  An  answer 
was  demanded  within  forty-eight  hours. 

The  writer  of  this  knew  that  the  answer  could  only  be  war.  Mr. 
Chamberlain  answered  next  day,  October  10,  informing  the  Transvaal 
Government  that  the  conditions  demanded  by  it  were  such  as  Her 
Majesty's  Government  deemed  it  impossible  to  discuss. 

SUMMARY   OF   CAUSES   OF   THE   WAR. 

The  preceding  chapters  of  this  Book  have  aimed  at  presenting  to  the 
reader  a  survey  of  the  forces  which  have  combined  to  produce  this  war. 
First  we  have  on  the  one  side  the  hatred  and  dread  of  the  British  Gov- 
ernment by  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal,  and  on  the  other  the  irritating 
and  self-complacent  vacillations  of  British  policy.  No  responsible 
statesman  gave  to  Great  Britain  a  clearly  outlined  South  African  policy 
which  could  command  the  general  assent  of  the  country. 

Second,  we  have  as  a  consequence  of  these  vacillations  the  feeling  of 
the  Boer  Government  that  they  could  with  impunity  ignore  the  provis- 
ions of  the  London  Convention,  especially  as  to  the  extension  of  their 
borders  and  commercial  relations  writh  the  neighboring  Colonies. 

"Third,  we  have  the  misgovernment  of  the  Outlanders  by  the  Trans- 
vaal, a  misgovernment  which  has  no  reasonable  defenders  anywhere  in 
enlightened  countries. 

Fourth,  we  have  the  confused  and  blundering  policy  and  the  embit- 
tering influence  of  Mr.  Rhodes,  who  began  by  trampling  on  the  true 
imperialists  of  South  Africa  and  ended  by  walking  all  over  the  most 
sacred  affections  of  his  own  allies,  the  Dutch.  His  part  and  lot  in  the 
Raid  spread  a  permanent  cloud  over  all  South  Africa. 

Fifth,  we  have  the  confessed  "hope"  of  Mr.  Reitz  and  the  official 
organ  of  the  Afrikander  Bond  that  the  day  would  certainly  come  for 
the  disappearance  of  the  British  flag  from  South  Africa,  a  "hope"  which 
simply  cannot  have  been  unconsidered  when  the  two  Presidents  in 
collusion  built  up  the  military  system  on  which  the  world  gazes  with 
astonishment  and  admiration  to-day.  This  "hope"  fired  the  zeal  of 


024  DIPLOMACY  AND  THE  ULTIMATUM. 

military  development,  united  the  two  Republics  more  closely,  prevented 
justice  to  the  Outlanders,  who  would  have  defeated  it,  and  strengthened 
the  claim  of  international  sovereignty. 

Sixth,  we  have  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  that  under  the  Conventions 
she  had  a  right  to  intervene,  not  in  the  ordinary  self-government  of  the 
Transvaal,  but  when  that  Government  was  so  mismanaged  as  to  con- 
stitute a  sore  injustice  to  British  citizens  within  the  Transvaal  and  a 
disturbance  to  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  neighboring  Colonies 
and  dependencies  of  Great  Britain.  On  the  other  hand  we  have  the 
claim  of  the  Transvaal  Government  to  be  a  sovereign  international  state, 
a  claim  which  she  pushed  to  the  last  and  which  Britain  absolutely 
disallowed. 

Seventh,  we  have  the  distrust  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  which  President 
Kruger  has  cherished  ever  since  he  found  reason  to  suspect  that  the 
former  had  beeji  privy  to  the  Johannesburg  revolution  and  the 
Jameson  invasion.  Beyond  all  doubt  this  distrust  did  very  deeply  taint 
and  embitter  on  both  sides  all  the  negotiations  of  all  last  summer.  It 
had  also  since  1895  prevented  Great  Britain  from  peremptorily  forbid- 
ding the  two  Republics  to  make  military  preparations  which  could  only 
be  directed  against  herself. 

Eighth,  we  have  the  alliance  of  the  two  Republics,  which  now  appears 
to  have  been  understood  as  binding  the  Free  State  to  fight  with  the 
Transvaal  whenever  the  latter  alleged  that  its  independence  was  threat- 
ened. This  alliance  dragged  the  Free  State,  with  which  Great  Britain 
had  absolutely  no  ground  of  dispute  and  no  actual  dispute,  into  the  des- 
perate act  of  invading  the  Colonies  of  Natal  and  Cape  Colony. 


THE  BOERS  IN  THE  TRENCHES  AT  THE  TUGELA  FACING  GENERAL  BULLER 


This  picture  enables  one  to  understand   the  complete  invisibility   of  the   Boers   while   fighting, 
soldiers    have    returned    home  wounded   in   three  or  four  places   who  'declare 
that  they  have  never  seen  their  opponents. 


British 


LIEUT.-GEN.  SIR   CHARLES  WARREN 
G.  C.  M.  G. 


LIEUT.-GEN.  J.  D.  P.  FRENCH 


A  WAGON  BREAKDOWN  IN  A  DRIFT 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  BRITISH   BOER  WAR,  1899-1900. 


PART  II. 

THE   PROGRESS  OF  THE  WAR 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

THE  union  of  the  Orange  Free  State  with  the  Transvaal  Republic 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  this  war  increased  the  difficulties 
of  the  British,  not  only  by  adding  thousands  of  soldiers  to  the 
Boer  army,  but  by  vastly  extending  the  frontier,  which  must  be  at- 
tacked or  defended.  If  we  consider  these  two  States  as  one,  a  glance 
at  the  map  will  show  how  many  hundreds  of  miles  comprise  the  bound- 
ary line  between  them  and  the  British  possessions.  Along  the  western 
border  we  have  first  Bechuanaland  in  the  north  and  the  Cape  Colony 
from  Mafeking  down  to  the  Orange  Free  State".  For  the  southern  border 
we  have  from  near  the  point  where  the  Kimberley  railroad  crosses  the 
Orange  River  right  across  to  Basutoland.  From  the  northeastern  bor- 
der of  Basutoland  the  boundary  line  extends  northwards  to  the  tip 
of  the  Natal  triangle  at  Majuba  Hill,  then  eastwards  and  northwards 
until  the  Portuguese  territory  is  reached,  a  little  south  of  Lorenzo 
Marquez,  near  Delagoa  Bay.  Along  the  western  and  northern  borders 
the  country  may  be  described  in  general  as  consisting  of  what  in 
America  we  call  prairie  lands,  which  may  either  be  perfectly  flat  for 
many  long  miles  or  change  into  a  rolling  country.  This  is  true  of  a 
good  part  of  the  southern  border  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  but  as  one 
goes  eastward  towards  Colesberg  and  Aliwal  North  the  country  be- 
comes much  more  hilly.  Here  and  there  on  these  prairie  lands  are  scat- 
tered strange  and  characteristic  eminences,  which  often  rise  quite  soli- 
tary and  steep  from  the  level  plain  and  which  are  known  in  South  Africa 
as  "kopjes."  These  afford,  of  course,  most  valuable  shelter  for  troops, 
are  easily  fortified  and  not  easily  captured.  North  of  Basutoland  there 
stretches  between  Natal  and  the  Boer  States  a  long  and  magnificent 
range  of  mountains.  These  are  rugged  and  steep,  some  of  the  peaks 
rising  to  many  thousands  of  feet  in  height.  These  are  crossed  at  certain 
points  by  passes,  through  which  the  main  roads  of  communication  have 
been  made. 

627 


628  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

Obviously  a  border  like  the  one  last  described  can  be  easily  fortified 
and  rendered  almost  impregnable  against  many  thousands  of  the  best 
trained  troops.  One  of  the  first  questions,  therefore,  which  the  world 
asked  when  the  war  was  announced  by  the  sending  of  the  Boer  ultima- 
tum to  London  was,  at  what  point  or  points  in  this  very  extensive  border 
will  the  invasion,  or  invasions,  be  likely  to  occur? 

Closely  connected  with  this  and  with  the  general  problem  was  the 
inquiry  as  to  the  number  of  soldiers  whom  the  Boers  could  muster  for 
their  desperate  struggle.  Estimates  varied  according  to  the  basis  of 
calculation  which  was  adopted.  Some  maintained  that  they  could  not 
reach  more  than  30,000,  while  a  few  other  extremists  put  in  a  number 
as  high  as  100,000  men.  The  latter  estimate  was  avowedly  based  upon 
the  presumption  that  the  Dutch  farmers  of  Cape  Colony  could  be 
counted  upon  to  rise  in  a  mass  and  join  their  brethren  of  the  north. 
The  safest  and  most  accurate  calculation  based  itself  upon  the  fact  that 
Kruger  told  Sir  Alfred  Milner  at  Bloemfontein  that  he  had  only  30,000 
burghers  exercising  the  vote.  As  the  total  Dutch  population  of  the 
Transvaal  is  about  80,000,  and  the  total  white  population  of  the  Orange 
Free  State  is  about  the  same,  viz.,  80,000,  it  is  safe  to  calculate  that  the 
Free  Staters  would  not  put  into  the  field  more  than  the  same  number 
of  men,  namely,  about  30,000.  This  total  of  60,000  must  undoubtedly 
be  increased  by  the  addition  of  several  thousand  foreign  volunteers  in 
the  Transvaal,  and  of  Boer  volunteers  from  the  colonies,  which  would 
bring  up  the  total  nominal  force  of  the  Boers  to  something  near  70,000. 
But  from  that  must  be  subtracted  all  those  whom  official  duty,  old  age, 
sickness  and  other  events  must  have  prevented  from  entering  upon 
active  warfare.  Further  there  must  be  subtracted  at  least  a  few  thou- 
sand of  the  Free  Staters  who  must  be  retained  on  their  eastern  border 
to  watch  all  movements  in  Basutoland,  prepared  to  meet  a  possible 
invasion  by  the  fierce  native  Highlanders  whom  the  Dutch  have  so 
much  cause  to  dread.  If  from  these  and  other  causes  we  subtract 
15,000  men,  we  are  left  with  55,000  as  the  utmost  possible  number  of 
soldiers  whom  the  Boers  can  obtain  to  send  into  the  field  for  actual 
fighting.  These  55,000  men  are  of  course,  almost  all  of  them,  citizen 
soldiers,  men  whose  ages  vary  from  sixteen  to  sixty  or  more,  and  who 
have  left  their  farms  and  their  firesides  to  fight  for  what  they  feel  to  be 


THE  INVASION   OF  NATAL.    .  629 

the  cause  of  liberty  and  justice.  Already  signs  not  a  few  have  appeared 
that  many  of  them  have  entered  upon  the  war  with  very  little  idea 
either  as  to  the  merits  of  the  cause  they  are  defending,  or  the  character 
of  the  enemy  against  whom  they  are  going.  Their  appearance  on  the 
battlefield  is  a  pathetic  fact,  one  that  has  stirred  the  blood  and  drawn 
forth  the  sympathy  of  -innumerable  citizens  of  other  lands,  not  even 
excluding  that  England  against  whom  they  fight.  Whether  their  cause 
in  the  main  be  right  or  wrong  these  Boers  as  individuals  have  attracted 
the  deepest  interest  of  open-minded  and  intelligent  men  and  women 
throughout  the  world. 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  Boers  very  soon  showed  itself  to  consist 
in  a  simultaneous  advance  on  the  British  territory  at  three  or  four  dif- 
ferent points.  The  first  and  most  important  attack,  that  which  absorbed 
by  far  the  largest  part  of  their  forces,  was  made  upon  Natal.  Another 
small  force,  estimated  at  various  numbers  from  3,000  to  5,000,  was 
directed  against  Mafeking,  the  northernmost  town  in  Cape  Colony. 
Another  larger  force  of  at  least  5,000  was  sent  to  invade  the  very  im- 
portant town  of  Kimberley.  Several  other  commandos  crossed  the 
border  at  several  points  between  Kimberley  and  Basutoland,  their 
object  being  to  occupy  some  of  the  northern  colonial  towns,  to  reach 
and  interfere  with  railway  communication  from  the  south,  and  to 
destroy  the  bridges  across  the  rivers. 

Even  before  the  war  began  it  was  known  that  the  Boers  were  ar- 
ranging their  forces  for  the  prompt  and  vigorous  invasion  of  Natal, 
accordingly  the  British  authorities  had  been  most  earnestly  urged  to 
hasten  sufficient  troops  to  that  colony  to  resist  such  an  invasion.  The 
Boers  had  three  reasons  very  probably  for  concentrating  their  most 
powerful  attack  upon  this  region.  In  the  first  place  Natal  is  rich,  its 
farm  lands  are  prosperous,  and  an  enemy  who  should  suddenly  descend 
upon  it  would  find  it  comparatively  easy  to  support  his  soldiers  by  loot- 
ing among  the  inhabitants. 

In  the  second  place  Natal  has  a  very  small  proportion  of  Boers 
among  its  inhabitants;  accordingly  the  invading  army  would  not  feel 
that  they  were  fighting  against  kinsmen  or  robbing  fellow  Afrikanders 
for  the  support  of  the  troops. 

In  the  third  place,  Natal  is  on  the  sea  coast,  and  if  the  final  victory, 


630  THE  INVASION   OF  NATAL. 

as  man}-  of  the  Boers  expected,  should  be  theirs  they  would  be  able  to 
make  a  very  strong  claim  for  an  extension  of  their  territory  to  the 
sea-coast.  This  long  cherished  and  deep-felt  ambition  would  give 
them  at  once  a  status  among  the  nations  which  they  never  can  possibly 
reach  while  they  exist  even  as  an  independent  and  self-governing  com- 
munity surrounded  on  every  side  by  British  territory. 

The  British  authorities  who  had  not  been  idle  although  they  had 
not  entered  with  any  conspicuous  vigor  upon  the  task  of  gathering 
troops  in  South  Africa,  had  sent  a  few  regiments  in  response  to  the 
appeal  of  the  Natal  government  to  Durban,  and  these,  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  brilliant  Indian  soldier,  Sir  George  Stewart  White,  had  been 
massed  for  the  most  part  at  the  town  of  Ladysmith,  which  is  about 
135  miles  from  the  sea-port  of  Durban.  The  importance  of  Lady- 
smith  arises  from  the  fact  that  at  this  point  tAVO  main  roads  from  the 
Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  meet  and  become  one  road  to 
Pieterrnaritzburg  and  Durban.  If  the  General  decided  to  prevent  the 
junction  of  the  Free  Staters  and  the  Transvaalers  it  must  be  at  this 
point.  In  order  to  do  this  he  sent  forward  about  four  thousand  men 
to  occupy  the  town  of  Dundee,  about  thirteen  miles  farther  north.  This 
section  of  his  force  was  placed  under  General  Sir  William  Penn  Symons, 
who  made  a  camp  for  it  between  Dundee  and  the  railway  junction  at 
Glencoe.  These  were  the  men  who  first  felt  the  full  brunt  of  the  force 
which  the  Transvaal  sent  into  Natal. 

The  Boer's  plan  of  campaign  was  very  wisely  conceived,  and  if  only 
it  had  been  as  thoroughly  carried  out  the  small  British  force  might  very 
speedily  have  been  destroyed.  The  general  plan  arranged  for  an  in- 
vasion of  Natal  by  three  columns.  The  western  column  was  to  go  from 
the  Orange  Free  State,  passing  through  Van  Reenens  Pass  and  the 
Tintwa  Pass.  This  column  consisted  of  Free  State  and  Transvaal  sol- 
diers intermixed.  The  main  central  column  was  commanded  by  General 
Joubert  himself,  assisted  by  General  Erasmus.  It  came  through  the 
pass  known  as  Laing's  Nek,  almost  under  the  shadow  of  sad  Majuba 
Hill,  and  through  Mt.  Prospect,  where  Sir  George  Colley  had  his  camp 
before  the  fatal  battle  in  which  he  fell,  eighteen  years  ago.  Another 
force  under  General  Lucas  Meyer  invaded  the  Transvaal  by  a  road  cross- 
ing the  border  farther  east.  The  two  last  columns  concentrated  on  the 


THE  INVASION   OF  NATAL.  631 

town  of  Newcastle,  which  they  occupied,  then  they  moved  southwards 
upon  Glencoe.  Their  movements  were  rapid  but  not  well  timed,  the 
result  being  that  at  the  critical  moment  when  their  leading  force  came 
in  contact  with  the  garrison  at  Glencoe  it  had  not  met  and  was  unsup- 
ported by  the  largef  force  on  which  its  movements  depended  for  success. 

The  First  Battle  of  the  War. 

On  October  20, 1899,  General  Yule  announced  from  Dundee  that  the 
first  battle  of  the  war  had  been  fought  and  won  by  the  British.  To  the 
east  of  the  town  of  Dundee  there  rises  a  steep  hill  at  a  distance  of  more 
than  5,000  yards.  The  hill  itself,  which  is  variously  named  Dundee 
Hill,  Smith's  Hill  and  Talana  Hill,  is  nearly  1,000  feet  in  height  from 
the  level  of  the  camp.  It  stands  close  to  a  road  which  enters  Dundee 
from  the  east.  It  was  evidently  the  purpose  of  General  Joubert  to  have 
one  portion  of  his  force  approach  on  this  road  and  occupy  the  hill, 
while  he  coming  on  the  straight  road  from  the  north  should  attack  the 
left  flank  of  the  British  force.  On  Thursday  afternoon  and  evening, 
October  19th,  the  British  became  aware  that  actual  fighting  had  begun. 
Their  pickets  throwrn  out  at  some  distance  from  the  town  discovered 
the  movements  of  stealthy  Boer  skirmishers  in  the  valley,  and  from  time 
to  time  through  the  night  shots  were  interchanged. 

It  was  not  until  the  daylight  of  Friday  morning,  October  20th,  had 
dawned  that  General  Sir  W.  Penn  Synions  and  his  troops  discovered 
the  true  state  of  matters.  The  Boers  had  during  the  previous  evening 
and  night  carried  out  a  most  daring  and  effective  movement.  They  had 
dragged  some  heavy  guns  to  the  top  of  that  hill  and  were  there  gathered 
in  force,  apparently  sure  that  they  were  safe  from  capture.  They  an- 
nounced their  triumphal  movement  in  a  very  startling  way  by  firing  a 
shell  right  over  the  town  of  Dundee,  which  lay  between  them  and  the 
camp.  That  was  the  first  intimation  which  General  Symons  had  of 
their  clever  maneuver  and  their  powerful  position.  A  number  of  shells 
were  fired,  which  fell  harmlessly  outside  the  camp.  One  only  exploded 
on  an  open  space  within  the  camp  without  doing  much  damage. 

Against  the  glow  of  the  morning  sky  dim  figures  of  many  men  could 
be  descried  on  the  hill-top,  moving  hurriedly  about.  No  one  knew  or 


632  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

could  guess  what  their  numbers  were,  nor  how  many  guns  they  had 
dragged  to  the  hill  top.  Accordingly  the  British  forces  had  to  begin 
with  their  artillery,  whose  firing  was  intended  not  merely  to  silence  the 
guns,  but  if  possible  to  reveal  the  strength  of  the  enemy.  For  some  time 
the  battle  consisted  of  an  artillery  duel,  which  resulted,  however,  in  the 
silencing  of  the  Boer  guns.  An  eye  witness  says  that  the  British  shells, 
fired  with  remarkable  precision,  broke  into  little  balls  of  white  smoke, 
as  it  seemed  from  a  distance,  right  among  the  enemy.  Under  cover  of 
this  accurate  artillery  fire  the  infantry  moved  forward  towards  the  foot 
of  the  hill.  -Those  chosen  for  this  daring  and  momentous  work  were 
the  King's  Royal  Rifles,  the  Dublin  Fusileers  and  the  First  Royal  Irish 
Fusileers.  These  moved  out  in  open  array  in  order  to  present  as  small 
a  mass  at  any  one  point  for  the  Boers  to  aim  at  as  possible.  Having 
reached  the  foot  of  the  hill  they  began  to  climb,  pausing  as  they  moved 
up  to  fire  at  the  Boers,  who  were  raining  down  rifle  balls  upon  them. 
Scrambling  and  pushing  up  the  hard  and  stony  steep  they  reached  a 
wall  running  round  the  hill,  said  to  be  about  half  way  from  the  summit 
of  the  hill. 

In  spite  of  the  heavy  artillery  fire  and  the  steady  rifle  shooting  of  the 
British  the  Boers  returned  again  and  again  to  the  outer  edge  of  the  hill 
and  fired  with  terrific  effect  upon  the  men  who  were  storming  their 
citadel.  In  the  meantime  General  Symons  moved  with  his  staff  to  the 
right  of  his  advancing  force  and  there  waited  for  his  chance  to  charge 
round  the  hill.  Another  battery  had  been  moved  leftwards  to  the  north 
of  the  hill  in  order  to  intercept  the  re-enforcements  which  Joubert,  who 
was  only  a  few  miles  off  with  thousands  of  soldiers  more,  was  sending 
hurriedly  forward.  This  battery  opened  fire  with  such  effect  as,  to  arrest 
for  a  time  the  advance  of  the  new  troops. 

It  was  long  after  mid-day,  after  seven  or  eight  hours  of  incessant 
fighting,  that  the  British  infantry  were  about  to  make  their  last  dash 
from  the  cover  of  the  wall  which  protected  them  awhile  to  the  top  of  ( 
the  bravely  defended  hill.  They  went  with  a  will.  Many  of  them 
dropped,  shot  dead  or  wounded  by  the  Boers,  just  as  they  reached  the 
crown  of  the  hill,  but  the  thoroughly  disciplined  and  seasoned  regulars 
of  the  British  army  could  not  be  thrown  into  confusion  by  the  fall  of 
their  comrades.  With  their  own  irresistible  cheer  and  rush  they  threw 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  633 

themselves  upon  the  now  disordered  forces  of  the  Boers,  who  were  hur- 
rying downwards  to  reach  their  horses  and  take  to  flight.  As  the  fugi- 
tives approached  the  level  they  were  attacked  by  the  squadrons  that 
had  been  sent  round  both  the  right  and  the  left  of  the  hill,  some 
mounted  infantry  on  the  left  chasing  them  until  they  were  met  by  re- 
enforcements  that  were  hastening  to  their  succor.  One  of  these  squad- 
rons, as  afterwards  became  known,  having  pushed  too  far  in  its  eager- 
ness, found  itself  surrounded  by  the  enemy  and  all  were  taken  prisoners. 
The  Boers  had  evidently  no  idea  that  they  would  be  driven  so  quickly 
from  the  hill,  for  not  only  their  guns,  but  also  a  large  number  of  their 
wagons  and  supplies,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British. 

At  first  it  was  imagined  that  this  reverse  would  throw  the  Boers  into 
despondency,  so  complete  and  by  the  Boers  so  evidently  unexpected, 
was  the  victory  which  had  been  gained.  The  event  did  not,  however, 
produce  this  result,  although  it  would  appear  from  news  that  subse- 
quently leaked  out  that  the  Boers  were  surprised  at  the  terrific  force 
of  the  British  charge.  The  battle  of  Majuba  Hill  was  actually  reversed. 
But  the  result  was  insignificant  in  this  case  as  compared  to  the  other, 
for  here  the  defeated  Boer  force  wras  able  to  fall  back  immediately  upon 
the  main  forces  from  the  north  and  from  the  northeast,  which  had  now 
united  and  were  moving  southwards  in  seemingly  countless  numbers. 
On  the  other  hand  the  victory  gave  great  hope  undoubtedly  to  the  vic- 
tors. They  found  themselves  opposed  by  people  acknowledged  to  be 
among  the  bravest  men  and  the  best  rifle  shots  in  the  world,  and  alike 
the  officers  and  privates  had  proved  themselves  possessed  of  a  swift 
energy  and  a  steel-like  courage. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  military  tactics  this  victory,  while  it  could 
not  prevent,  would  undoubtedly  for  a  brief  time  check  the  advance  of 
General  Joubert.  This  check  interfered  with  the  original  plans  for 
concentration  with  the  Orange  Free  State  forces  upon  Ladysmith.  The 
victory  at  Dundee  made  possible  the  next  victory  at  Elandslaagte.  The 
latter  again  in  turn  made  possible  the  hurried  retreat  of  the  forces 
from  Dundee,  and  the  union  with  the  main  body  of  the  British  troops  at 
Ladysmith.  The  victory  of  the  British  was  bought  at  a,  heavy  price  in 
that  General  Symons  fell,  mortally  wounded.  He  lay  for  a  few  days 
in  a  hospital  in  Dundee,  and  received  every  attention  that  was  possible, 


634  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

but  the  wound  was  in  a  vital  part  and  no  recovery  was  possible.  He 
died  on  Monday  afternoon  after  his  army  had  left  the  camp,  and  was 
laid  to  rest  close  to  the  little  Episcopal  church  on  Tuesday  morning 
without  the  usual  military  honors;  no  guns  were  fired,  no  military  dis- 
play took  place.  A  few  medical  officers  and  a  few  civilians,  with  the 
English  clergyman,  surrounded  his  grave.  The  command  of  the  troops 
at  Glencoe  passed  into  the  hands  of  General  Yule. 

The  Second  Battle. 

In  the  meantime  another  battle  had  been  fought  farther  south.  Sir 
George  White,  with  4,000  or  5,000  men,  occupied  a  camp  close  to  the 
town  of  Ladysmith,  whose  importance  we  have  already  pointed  out. 
His  eyes  were  directed  chiefly  towards  the  west,  whence  he  expected  to 
hear  of  the  arrival  of  the  large  forces  from  the  Orange  Free  State,  but 
he  discovered  that  a  few  miles  north  of  his  camp  railway  communication 
with  Glencoe  had  been  cut  off.  A  scouting  party  discovered  that  a  Boer 
force  had  captured  the  railway  station  at  Elandslaagte,  seized  a  train 
loaded  with  provisions  for  Glencoe,  and  was  intrenching  itself  in  a  very 
strong  position  on  a  hill  several  hundreds  of  feet  high  and  about  a,  mile 
and  a  half  southeast  of  the  railway  station.  This  force  had  evidently 
taken  the  direct  and  shorter  route  from  Newcastle  in  the  far  north 
instead  of  going  round  by  Glencoe  and  Dundee.  Its  object  was  to  cut 
off  communication  between  the  two  British  camps  and  find  a  strong 
position  where  the  Boer  troops  could  gather  for  the  purpose  of  inter- 
cepting any  attempted  British  retreat  from  the  north  or  advance  from 
the  south.  Sir  George  White  immediately  saw  the  enormous  import- 
ance of  driving  this  force  from  the  position  which  they  had  occupied. 
Accordingly  the  morning  of  the  21st  was  occupied  in  moving  his  troops 
out  to  the  scene  of  the  expected  battle. 

It  was  not  until  about  half-past  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
that  the  train  conveying  his  heavy  guns  and  infantry  soldiers  reached 
a  spot  opposite  the  hill  on  which  the  enemy  were  entrenched.  The 
latter  occupied  with  their  guns  two  small  hills  which  formed  spurs 
on  each  side  of  the  central  "kopje."  On  the  latter  the  main  force  of 
the  Boers  was  placed.  As  soon  as  the  Boers  caught  sight  of  the 


THE  INVASION   OF  NATAL.  635 

British  guns  they  opened  fire  upon  the  train.  Their  attack  was 
briskly  returned.  The  British  prepared  to  take  their  heavy  guns 
across  the  open  ground  between  the  railway  and  the  Boer's  strong- 
hold. This  was  done  by  making  short,  rapid  dashes  forward  and  stop- 
ping to  shell  the  Boer  guns  into  silence.  Every  time  they  were  silenced 
another  swift  move  forward  was  made.  The  Boers  on  their  side  fought 
with  a  courage  which  woke  the  surprised  admiration  of  the  gallant 
General  opposed  to  them.  The  extraordinary  precision  of  the  British 
guns  scattered  them  from  their  guns  time  after  time,  but  as  soon  as  the 
forward  movement  of  their  foes  began  the  Boers  returned  and  trained 
their  guns  once  more  upon  the  advancing  artillerymen.  The  Boers  sent 
out  from  each  side  of  the  hill  mounted  infantry,  intending  with  them  to 
attack  each  flank  of  the  British  troops,  but  they  were  met  with 
equal  courage  and  did  not  succeed  in  turning  the  flank  of  the  enemy.  At 
last,  when  dusk  was  settling  over  the  fearful  scene,  the  moment  had 
come  for  which  the  British  were  all  along  preparing.  The  signal  was 
given  for  those  men  to  move  forward  who  had  been  chosen  to  undertake 
the  desperate  work  of  charging  up  the  steep  face  of  that  crag  and  driv- 
ing the  Boer  riflemen  from  their  place.  Among  the  well  known  regi- 
ments represented  in  this  storming  party  were  the  Gordon  Highlanders 
who  so  recently  had  sent  their  name  around  the  world  once  more,  ring- 
ing with  the  glory  of  the  charge  up  the  heights  of  Dargai.  in  India. 
It  is  said  that  after  this  charge  against  the  Boers  they  confessed  that 
the  capture  of  Dargai  was  child's  play  compared  with  that  of  the  hill  of 
Elandslaagte.  The  Boers  do  not  appear  to  have  expected  that  their 
enemy  would  reach  the  top  of  the  hill.  The  withering  fire  from  above 
made  the  British  two  or  three  times  waver  for  a  moment,  but  each  time 
recovering  themselves  they  resumed  the  rush  forwards  and  upwards. 
When  they  were  among  the  enemy  the  struggle  was  over,  for  the  Boers 
are  practically  defenseless  when  it  comes  to  a  hand  to  hand  encounter 
with  soldiers  drilled  to  perfection  in  the  use  of  the  bayonet,  sword  and 
lance. 

When  the  Boers  took  to  flight  it  was  already  dark  and  the  lancers 
charged  through  and  through  their  '  routed  ranks,  sending  the 
poor,  bewildered  men  flying  in  every  direction.  The  Boers  lost  in  this 
battle  the  furniture  of  their  camp,  some  horses  and  two  guns.  The  train 


636  THE  INVASION   OF  NATAL. 

of  supplies  which  they  had  captured  was  recovered  as  well  as  nine 
English  prisoners.  But  for  them  the  most  serious  loss  was  in  the  death 
of  General  Kock,  one  of  their  most  famous  leaders,  besides  a  nephew  of 
General  Joubert.  The  British  also  took  prisoner  a  German  of  the  name 
of  Schiel,  to  whom  is  given  much  of  the  credit  for  having  drilled  the 
Boer  soldiers  in  the  use  of  large  guns.  Such  a  battle  could  not  be  fought 
without  severe  loss  on  the  side  of  the  attacking  party,  who,  throughout 
these  movements,  were  exposed  both  to  the  cannon  and  rifle  shooting 
of  the  enemy. 

In  each  of  these  early  battles  the  world  was  amazed  at  the  very 
large  proportion  of  British  officers  who  were  shot  or  wounded.  This 
was  said  to  be  due  to  two  causes;  the  first  being  that  every  officer  wears 
a  sword  and  is  otherwise  clearly  distinguished  in  his  uniform  from  the 
soldiers  under  him;  the  second  being  that  when  in  charges,  made  across 
exposed  places  the  soldiers  are  ordered  to  lie  down  in  shelter  behind 
a  hillock  or  a  bush,  the  officer  remains  on  his  feet,  exposed  practically 
alone  to  the  attention  and  fire  of  the  enemj7.  The  British  learned  a  les- 
son from  these  battles  which  they  quickly  put  into  practice  in  this  very 
war,  for  Lord  Methuen,  commanding  the  force  that  advanced  to  the 
relief  of  Kimberley,  ordered  his  soldiers  to  strip  themselves  of  distinctive 
features  in  their  uniforms  and  in  the  charges  which  his  regiments  made 
it  was  at  once  noticed  that  the  proportion  of,  officers  struck  was  very 
much  smaller.  A  prisoner  taken  at  one  of  his  battles  reported  that  cer- 
tain men  were  set  apart  by  the  Boers,  whose  work  it  was  to  deliberately 
pick  out  the  British  officers,  and  aim  at  none  but  them. 

The  result  of  the  brilliant  attack  at  Elandslaagte  was  to  drive  the 
defeated  force  northwards  again,  to  restore  railway  communication 
with  Glencoe  and  make  possible  that  retreat  of  General  Yule  which  the 
enormous  forces  of  General  Joubert  and  their  repeated  and  threatening- 
attacks  upon  the  camp  at  Glencoe  made  absolutely  necessary. 

The  Retreat  of  General  Yule. 

If,  as  has  been  calculated,  General  Joubert  had  brought  with  him 
from  the  north  not  less  than  15,000  men  with  heavy  guns  it  is  quite 
evident  that  the  3,000  or  4,000  British  soldiers  at  Glencoe  were  in  emi- 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  637 

nent  danger  of  being  crushed.  On  Saturday,  after  the  battle  of  Dun- 
dee Hill,  the  Boers  again  began  to  gather  within  the  range  of  the  camp. 
On  Sunday  they  shelled  the  British  camp  throughout  the  day,  making 
it  necessary  for  General  Yule  to  exercise  a  ceaseless  vigilance  in  moving 
his  troops  and  keeping  them  out  of  danger.  On  Monday  it  was  decided 
to  make  a  speedy  retreat  upon  Ladysmith.  It  must  have  been  very  hard 
for  the  General  to  decide  that  he  must  leave  the  wounded,  including 
General  Symons,  behind  him.  He  must  consent  to  lose  his  stores  of  pro- 
visions and  resign~the  custody  of  his  prisoners,  but  these  were  facts 
which  he  faced  with  as  good  courage  and  grace  as  possible.  Later  in  the 
afternoon  the  long  and  hazardous  march  began.  The  most  exciting  part 
probably  was  reached  long  after  dark  as  they  came  to  a  narrow  pass 
through  the  Biggarsberg  Mountains,  \vhich  is  six  miles  long  and  could 
be  very  easily  defended  by  a  small  force.  To  add  to  the  misery  of  the* 
situation  a  very  heavy  rain  fell  throughout  the  night,  and  the  unfortu- 
nate soldiers  had  to  tramp  or  ride  mile  after  mile  in  the  dark,  cautiously, 
anxiously,  drenched  with  rain  and  no  doubt  depressed  in  spirit  by  the 
mere  fact  that  they  were  retreating.  General  Yule  was  wise  and  careful 
enough  not  to  choose  the  direct  road  but  to  make  a  detour  eastwards, 
which  considerably  increased  the  length  of  his  march,  but  put  him 
beyond  the  reach  of  any  forces  which  might  attack  him  from  the  east. 
Sir  George  White  heard  of  the  retreat  and  the  direction  taken,  and  at 
once  determined  to  cover  the  retreat  by  moving  some  part  of  his  force 
northwards  so  as  to  prevent  the  Boers  from  trying  to  intercept  General 
Yule.  On  Tuesday,  October  24th,  he  discovered  the  enemy  seven  miles 
out  in  a  strong  position  west  of  the  road.  The  firing  consisted  entirely 
in  the  use  of  artillery,  in  which  the  British  proved  themselves  superior, 
and  the  enemy  retired  westwards.  On  the  Wednesday  General  White 
found  that  his  army  from  the  north  had  reached  the  Sunday's  Kiver,  and 
was  resting  there  for  awhile.  It  was  not  until  noon  on  Thursday,  Octo- 
ber 26th,  that  General  Yule's  army  marched  into  Ladysmith,  after 
another  night  of  heavy  rain.  The  men  were  worn  out  but  in  good 
spirits,  and  no  doubt  thoroughly  thankful  that  their  enterprise  had  not 
received  any  check. 

Up  to  this  point  in  these  operations  it  w^s  evident  that  the  Boers, 
while  defeated  in  single  battles,  had  yet  on  the  whole  succeeded  in  so 


63$  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

far  as  having  now  driven  the  north  column  in  upon  Ladysmith,  they 
were  able  to  gather  their  own  various  columns  together  unmolested,  and 
to  make  plans  for  surrounding  and  bombarding  the  British  force  in 
the  camp  at  Ladysmith,  as  also  for  carrying  on  their  invasion  of  Natal 
southwards  along  the  railway  line  towards  Pietermaritzburg  and 
Durban. 

These  operations  were  carried  on  with  considerable  skill  and  with 
great  rapidity  of  movement.  The  Boer  forces  streaming  in  from 
the  Orange  Free  State  and  moving  in  still  larger  numbers  from 
the  north  began  completely  to  surround  Ladysmith  and  to  occupy  the 
southern  road  connecting  it  with  Colenso  and  Pietermaritzburg.  It  is 
not  yet  perfectly  clear  why  Sir  George  White  settled  down  in  this  place. 
No  situation  could  have  been  found  more  open  to  attack,  for  the  town 
lies  in  a  hollow  and  is  surrounded  in  every  direction  with  the  charac- 
teristic kopjes  of  South  Africa.  One  reason  given  is  that  there  had 
been  collected  at  Ladysmith  an  enormous  amount  of  stores  both  of  provi- 
sions and  ammunition,  which  were  far  too  valuable  to  be  allowed  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Another  and  more  probable  theory  is 
that  Sir  George  White  had  been  as  ill-informed  as  the  rest  of  the  British 
generals  at  that  time  regarding  the  real  strength  of  the  enemy,  both  in 
numbers  and  in  armament.  Otherwise  he  surely  would  have  kept  moving 
southwards,  occupying  one  vantage  point  after  another  and  presenting 
to  the  Boer  forces  a  stern  and  successful  resistance,  such  as  they  have 
since  presented  to  the  British.  If  he  had  crossed  the  Tugela  and  en- 
trenched himself  on  the  south  banks  he  might  have  for  a  long  time  pre- 
vented their  crossing  and  kept  his  communications  open  southwards 
and  seawards.  The  unwelcome  fact  had  soon  to  be  accepted  by  the 
British  that  Sir  George  White  was  surrounded  in  Ladysmith  and  that  a 
prolonged  siege  had  begun. 

THE  SIEGE  OP  LADYSMITH. 

During  the  earlier  movements  of  the  Boers  Sir  George  White  showed 
great  enterprise  and  activity,  and  made  a  number  of  successful  sorties 
which  were  daily  hailed  throughout  the  British  world  as  striking  vic- 
tories, presaging  a  speedy  termination  of  the  war.  Pride  was  tempered., 
however,  and  hope  was  somewhat  clouded  by  one  or  two  unfortunate 


THE  INVASION  OF  XATAL.  ,  639 

incidents.  The  chief  of  these  was  undoubtedly  the  disaster  at  Nichol- 
son's Nek  on  Monday,  October  30th.  As  a  part  of  a  general  attack  upon 
all  the  enemy's  important  positions  Sir.  George  White  sent  a  force  of 
1,200  men  to  occupy  a  point  of  vantage  known  as  Nicholson's  Nek.  The 
troops  carried  the  usual  amount  of  ammunition  and  had  with  them  wag- 
ons hauled  by  mules  bearing  larger  guns  and  reserve  supplies  of  ammu- 
nition. It  is  said  that  the  Boers  succeeded  in  stampeding  the  mules  by 
rolling  down  rocks  upon  them  and  that  they  were  startled  in  any  case  by 
the  sudden  shock  of  rifle  fire.  They  left  the  troops  dismayed  and  de- 
nuded of  part  of  their  reserves.  When  morning  dawned  the  column  were 
fiercely  attacked  but  held  their  own,  expecting  reinforcements  to  arrive 
speedily.  These  for  some  reason  or  another  were  not  sent  and  the  men 
at  last  surrendered.  The  whole  story  is  still  clouded  in  mystery.  Why 
they  could  not  retreat  earlier  is  not  known.  Whether  or  not  their  ammu- 
nition was  really  exhausted  is  not  yet  absolutely  certain.  It  is  even 
affirmed  that  the  surrender  was  due  to  an  error  on  the  part  of  a  subor- 
dinate officer  who,  finding  himself  out  of  sight  of  the  rest,  with  only  a  few 
companions,  imagined  himself  to  be  isolated  and  raised  the  white  flag 
which  committed  the  entire  force  to  the  laying  down  of  their  arms.  The 
real  incidents  have  yet  to  be  discovered  which  made  it  possible  for  the 
Boers  without  much  expenditure  of  life  to  take  about  1,200  officers  and 
men  as  prisoners  to  Pretoria.  In  other  directions  also  Sir  George  White's 
forces  were  on  this  disastrous  day  driven  back.  When  the  news  of 
Nicholson's  Nek  reached  the  European  world  all  generous  hearts  were 
stirred  to  admiration  by  the  form  in  which  Sir  George  White  made  the 
report.  Instead  of  blaming  his  men  or  his  subordinate  officers,  he  gal- 
lantly took  the  entire  responsibility  for  the  misfortune  upon  himself, 
asserting  that  the  disaster  was  due  to  a  miscalculation,  for  which  he 
was  alone  responsible. 

It  was  a  fortunate  event  that  the  very  day  before  the  road  to  the 
south  was  finally  closed  the  naval  guns  from  H.  M.  S.  Powerful  arrived 
at  Ladysmith,  which  were  subsequently  of  such  enormous  importance  to 
the  beleaguered  army.  These  guns  being  magnificently  manned  and 
able  to  carry  an  explosive  shell  with  great  accuracy  of  aim  a  distance  of 
8,000  yards,  proved  indispensable.  Sir  George  White  was  then  able  to 
keep  the  big  guns  of  the  Boers  at  a  very  great  distance;  and  that  gave 


640  THE-  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

him  considerable  range  of  territory  within  which  to  operate  his  troops, 
to  preserve  their  health  and  to  feed  their  horses.  Without  these  guns 
they  would  have  been  more  closely  hemmed  in  and  the  siege  would  un- 
doubtedly have  ended  in  disaster. 

During  the  early  part  of  November  the  British  made  several  small 
fights,  attacking  suddenly  and  with  great  force  one  position  after  an- 
other even  at  a  distance  of  several  miles  from  the  town.  They  were  of 
course  unable  to  hold  these  permanently,  and  the  positions  which  they 
captured  were,  as  a  rule,  speedily  reoccupied  by  the  enemy.  On  Novem- 
ber 9th  the  Boers  made  their  first  combined  effort  to  overwhelm  the 
British  forces.  In  every  direction  they  were  successfully  repulsed. 
Humane  arrangements  had  been  made  between  the  opposing  Generals 
for  the  placing  of  the  Ladysmith  hospital  three  miles  down  on  the  south- 
ward road  where  the  wounded,  and  the  women  and  children  also,  were 
placed  in  safety.  During  this  period  General  White  selected  several 
camps,  which  he  thoroughly  entrenched  and  which  proved  to  be  im- 
pregnable against  every  assault. 

The  Boers,  as  we  have  said,  moved  southwards.  Their  movements 
were  rapid  and,  being  unopposed,  they  speedily  covered  a  considerable 
amount  of  territory  to  the  intense  alarm  of  all  Natal.  Colenso  they 
found  practically  undefended,  and  at  last  they  reached  the  neighborhood 
of  Estcourt.  While  they  were  moving  towards  the  latter  town  there 
occurred  the  famous  incident  of  the  armored  train.  From  Estcourt  there 
sallied  forth  on  the  railroad  an  armored  train  filled  with  one  company 
of  the  Dublin  Fusiliers  and  one  company  of  the  Durban  Volunteers. 
There  went  with  them  the  correspondent  of  a  London  newspaper  and 
son  of  the  late  Lord  Randolph  Churchill,  Mr.  Winston  Churchill.  When 
they  had  proceeded  almost  as  far  as  Chieveley  the  train  was  suddenly 
attacked  by  a  force  of  Boers  who  succeeded  in  throwing  one  car  off  the 
rail.  A  number  of  British  immediately  leaped  to  the  ground  and  under 
the  energetic  direction  of  their  officers  and  the  enthusiastic  help  of  Mr. 
Churchill,  proceeded  to  cut  off  the  engine  and  the  other  car;  these  hur- 
ried back  to  Estcourt.  It  was  impossible,  however,  to  take  all  the  men 
back,  and  there  were  left  behind  two  killed,  ten  wounded  and  fifty-six 
who  became  prisoners.  Amongst  the  prisoners  was  Mr.  Churchill. 
They  were  taken  immediately  to  Pretoria,  where  they  still  remain — all 


THE   BATTLE   OF   SPION    KOP 

This   picture   shows   the   British    carrying   their    dead    and    wounded   comrades  down  the  hill  during 

that  terrific  struggle. 


HAULING  THE  GUNS  UP  COLES  HOP 

The  men  of  "B"  Company,  Essex  Regiment,  thirty  men  to  each  rope,  ninety  in  all,   dragging  up   the 
guns  to   the  top  of  Coles  Kop,   1,400   feet  above  the  plain. 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  641 

except  the  enterprising  newspaper  correspondent.  The  story  of  his 
romantic  escape  is  not  yet  fully  known.  It  is  said,  however,  that  after 
reading  John  Stuart  Mill  on  "Liberty"  he  resolved  to  seek  his  own.  He 
obtained  a  disguise,  scrambled  over  the  enclosing  fence  or  wall,  walked 
through  Pretoria  to  the  railroad;  thence  partly  by  long  night  marches 
and  partly  by  using  a  freight  car  he  succeeded  in  reaching  Portuguese 
territory,  and  from  Delagoa  Bay  returned  to  Durban.  It  is  said  that 
if  he  had  waited  one  day  longer  he  would  have  received  an  order  for 
his  discharge  from  General  Joubert,  who  did  not  wish  to  retain  a  news- 
paper correspondent  as  a  prisoner. 

On  November  23d  the  Boers  were  at  Estcourt  striving  to  do  for 
General  Hildyard  what  they  had  already  done  for  Sir  George  White.  He 
however  proved  himself  too  strong  to  be  isolated.  With  the  help  of  a 
supporting  force  from  Weston  he  drove  the  Boers  back  and  cleared  the 
road  once  more  as  far  as  Frere.  The  swiftness  of  the  Boer  movements, 
the  comparative  immunity  which  they  had  enjoyed  thus  far  in  their 
invasion  of  Natal,  roused  the  most  intense  excitement  not  only  through- 
out that  colony,  but  throughout  the  British  Empire.  It  became  evident 
to  all  that  the  Boer  army  was  much  more  powerful  than  anyone  outside 
the  secrets  of  the  two  Republics  had  ever  guessed.  Anything  in  the  way 
of  victory  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  possible  to  them.  The  inhabitants  of 
Pietermaritzburg  were  panic-stricken  and  began  to  prepare  themselves 
for  a  vigorous  defence  of  the  capital  city  of  Natal. 

General  Sir  Redvers  Buller,  who  had  been  appointed  Commander  of 
the  entire  forces  in  South  Africa  and  who,  during  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber, had  remained  mainly  at  Cape  Town  directing  his  forces  northwards 
to  repel  the  invasion  of  Cape  Colony  as  well  as  eastwards  to  meet  the  in- 
vasion of  Natal,  soon  saw  that  the  latter  was  at  the  time  the  most  serious 
problem.  In  the  beginning1  of  December  he  sailed  for  Durban  and 
speedily  moved  to  the  front.  He  recognized  at  once  that  the  situation 
was  extremely  grave  and  dangerous.  He  resolved  not  to  leave  the 
development  of  the  British  defence  and  the  counter  attack  in  Natal  to 
any  of  his  subordinate  generals,  but  to  undertake  it  himself.  This  deci- 
sion was  undoubtedly  a  brave  one,  for  it  involved  General  Buller  in  so 
close  a  study  of  local  events  in  Natal  that  he  was  unable  to  direct  affairs 
powerfully  and  intelligently  in  the  other  distant  scenes  of  invasion  and 


642  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

Battle.  His  original  plan,  it  is  said,  had  been  that  which  Lord  Koberts 
with  slight  modifications  has  now  carried  out,  namely,  to  invade  the 
Orange  Free  State  from  the  south  with  a  large  army  and  make  straight 
for  Bloemfontein.  If  he  had  had  enough  troops  at  his  disposal,  both 
to  withstand  any  further  invasion  of  Natal  and  to  initiate  the  invasion 
of  the  Free  State,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  carried  out  that  plan. 
He  had  to  choose,  however,  between  the  enormous  risk  of  the  successful 
occupation  of  the  whole  of  Natal  by  the  Boers  and  the  delay  of  his 
original  plan  by  bringing  enough  troops  into  Natal  to  drive  the  Boers 
back.  He  chose  the  latter  course  and  his  decision  will  probably  be  felt 
by  all  men  to  have  been  in  the  circumstances  wise  if  not  indeed  obvious 
and  inevitable. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  week  of  December  General  Buller  had  reached 
the  Frere  camp  and  began  operations  by  moving  northwards  towards 
Ladysmith.  In  the  meantime  Sir  Qeorge  White  still  maintained  con- 
siderable activity.  On  the  night  of  December  7th  he  sent  out  his  force 
eastwards  to  attack  a  strong  position  occupied  by  the  Boers  on  Lom- 
bard's Kop.  This  was  a  fierce  struggle  and  it  ended  in  victory  for 
the  British  general.  A  similar  and  very  successful  sortie  was  made 
in  another  direction  on  December  10th.  Of  course  he  lost  men,  both  in 
killed  and  wounded,  on  all  these  occasions.  The  British  newspapers 
faithfully  printed  the  names  of  all  who  were' cut  off  by  death  or  wounds 
or  capture,  and  painfully  added  up  each  week  the  sad  and  disastrous 
totals. 

One  of  the  humorous  features  of  the  war  has  been  the  extraordinary 
habit  of  the  Boers  of  minimizing  their  losses  to  a  ridiculous  extent.  The 
telegrams  from  Pretoria  have  usually  announced,  even  after  a  severe 
fight,  that  while  the  British  lost  many  the  Federal  forces  lost  perhaps 
one  killed  and  two  wounded,  or  four  killed  and  eight  wounded.  The 
numbers  announced  have  seldom  passed  ten  or  a  dozen.  The  outside 
world  ha»not  been  deceived  by  the  monotonous  repetition  of  these  trivial 
numbers.  Most  probably  their  real  purpose  was  not  to  attempt  a  de- 
ception of  Europe  and  America,  but  to  keep  the  crushing  truth  from 
the  people  of  the  Transvaal.  The  Boers,  of  course,  are  citizen  soldiers 
who  have  gone  from  their  farms  to  this  bitter  war;  and  the  story  of 
heavy  losses  would  produce  a  strong  reactionary  feeling  throughout  the 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  643 

homes  that  heard  of  loss  after  loss.  President  Kruger  would  have  a 
new  war  of  a  new  kind  to  meet  within  his  own  territories,  if  the  women 
and  children  were  told  that  their  fathers  and  husbands  and  brothers 
were  falling  by  hundreds  on  distant  and  bloody  battlefields.  One  of 
the  most  dismal  and,  indeed,  harrowing  features  of  the  war  comes  into 
view  when  one  reflects  that  the  organization  of  the  Boer  armies  prob- 
ably makes  it  hard  for  them  to  announce  in  their  home  newspapers 
the  names  of  those  who  are  slain  or  left  wounded  in  distant  hospitals. 
There  is  a  day  of  terrible  despair  coming  to  the  Transvaal  when  its 
women  wake  up  to  the  fact  that  the  fearful  truth  has  been  hidden 
from  them,  and  that  thousands  are  bereaved  instead  of  the  mere  scores 
that  have  been  reported. 

The  week  ending  Saturday,  December  15th,  was  one  of  the  darkest 
in  the  entire  history  of  the  war  for  Great  Britain  and  all  British  sym- 
pathizers. In  that  one  week  three  great  reverses  took  place  which, 
while  they  did  not  materially  improve  the  position  of  the  Boers,  dis- 
turbed the  self-confidence  of  Great  Britain  and  opened  for  the  first 
time  the  eyes  of  the  Government  to  the  enormous  task  which  she  had 
assumed.  After  the  defeat  of  Lord  Methuen,  elsewhere  described,  and 
after  the  disaster  to  General  Gatacre,  the  British  turned  with  strong 
confidence  to  the  movements  of  General  Sir  Redvers  Buller.  It  was 
known  that  he  had  taken  under  his  personal  charge  the  large  army 
which  now  confronted  General  Joubert  on  the  Tugela  at  Colenso,  only 
thirteen  miles  from  Ladysmith.  It  seemed  to  those  war  experts  and 
others  who  regard  events  from  a  distance  of  6,000  miles  a  practical 
certainty  that  General  Buller  would  be  able  to  carry  the  positions  of 
the  enemy  and  bring  relief  to  Ladysmith.;  The  consternation  of  the 
world  was  supreme,  therefore,  when  news  came  that  the  British  forces 
had  sustained  a  serious  reverse.  As  the  details  of  the  reverse  became 
known  its  moral  significance  seem  to  grow  larger  and  more  portentous. 

It  was  early  on  Saturday,  December  15th,  that  General  Buller  began 
the  attack.  The  enemy  had  been  for  several  weeks  patiently  employed 
in  dragging  their  guns  to  advantageous  positions  and  in  digging  exten- 
sive intrenchments  for  their  troops.  The  British  seem  to  have  been 
unaware,  even  when  the  battle  began,  of  the  position  of  some  of  these 
intrenchments.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Tugela  the  main  Boer  positions 


644  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

were  established  on  the  face  of  the  hills  which  were  crowned  by  their 
guns.  East  and  west  their  lines  extended,  in  a  semi-circle  eight  miles 
long,  not  following  the  windings  of  the  river  very  closely,  but  on  the  east 
coming  pretty  close  to  the  British  right.  General  Barton,  with  a  brigade 
consisting  of  four  battalions  of  English,  Welsh,  Scotch  and  Irish,  re- 
spectively, was  placed  here.  On  the  extreme  left  General  Hart's  bri- 
gade, composed  mainly  of  Irish  regiments,  moved  westwards  for  the 
purpose  of  reaching  a  certain  ford,  knowrn  as  Bridle  Drift.  If  he  could 
carry  that  he  would  turn  the  enemj-'s  right  flank  as  General  Barton 
on  the  other  wing  was  intended  to  turn  their  left.  The  entire  British 
front  measured  about  six  miles.  Each  wing  was  supported  by  heavy 
guns  and  in  the  center  on  a  little  hill  where  stood  General  Buller  and 
his  staff  there  were  placed  the  naval  guns.  The  battle  began  about  6 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  For  some  time  the  enemy  made  no  reply  to  the 
heavy  guns  and  few  of  them  showed  themselves  anywhere  along  the 
hillsides.  At  last,  howrever,  when  the  British  approached  the, river, 
especially  near  Colenso,  both  musketry  and  heavy  guns  opened  fire. 
The  Boers,  however,  who  lined  the  river  banks  remained  concealed. 
Tempted,  it  is  not  known  yet  by  what  idea,  Colonel  Long  on  the  right 
rushed  his  guns  forward  beyond  his  infantry  supports.  He  was  allowed 
to  approach  until  within  600  yards .  of  the  river  banks,  when  sud- 
denly the  Boers  sprang  to  their  feet  and  opened  a  terrific  fire  with  their 
Mauser  rifles.  The  drivers  and  horses  were  mowed  down  and  the  guns 
had  to  be  abandoned.  Several  thrilling  incidents  took  place  in  the  at- 
tempts of  the  riders  and  officers  to  recover  some  of  these  field  pieces. 
The  only  son  of  Lord  Roberts,  Lieutenant  Roberts,  volunteered  to  make 
the  effort,  took  with  him  several  companions  and  tried  to  haul  one  of  the 
big  guns  awray.  He  was  hit  and  died  of  his  wound  not  long  after. 

While  this  was  happening  on  the  right  General  Hart's  Irish  regi- 
ments were  encountering  an  opposition  as  sudden  and  as  terrific  on  the 
far  left.  In  spite  of  the  slaughter  which  took  place  in  their  ranks 
the  Irishmen  rushed  through  the  river,  a  few  of  them  drowning  in  the 
attempt,  and  occupied  the  north  banks.  If  they  could  have  been  effectu- 
ally supported  at  this  time  they  might  have  held  their  own,  but  as  it 
was  they  were  compelled  to  withdraw.  These  two  disasters  of  course 
made  the  advance  of  the  center  impossible  and  it  became  evident  to- 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  G45 

wards  noon  that  the  elaborate  attack  of  General  Buller  had  ended  in 
disaster.  The  losses  were  very  serious  in  men  and  in  guns. 

While  the  Boer  armies  had  in  this  engagement  made  no  headway 
and  revealed  no  power  of  successfully  attacking  the  British  forces  or 
carrying  the  invasion  of  Natal  any  further,  the  reverse  was  most 
serious  because  of  the  effect  which  it  would  produce  through- 
out South  Africa,  encouraging  the  Dutch  to  a  more  hopeful  opposition, 
and  depressing  the  entire  British  force,  and  chiefly,  of  course,  the  already 
disappointed  troops  in  Ladysmith.  It  was  not  accurately  known  how 
much  ammunition  Sir  George  White  possessed,  nor  how  long  his  pro- 
visions would  hold  out  He  himself  continued  to  send  forth  cheerful 
messages  announcing  successful  sorties  in  one  direction  or  another,  and 
promised  to  hold  out  indefinitely,  even  for  months,  if  necessary. 

On  January  6th,  General  Joubert  made  his  supreme  effort  to  reduce 
General  WThite's  army  by  force.  The  attack  seems  to  have  been  elab- 
orately planned  and  threatened  at  one  time  to  be  successful.  The  strug- 
gle was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  three  or  four  fiercest  which  occurred 
during  the  first  five  months  of  the  war.  The  Boer  Commander  concen- 
trated a  large  part  of  the  troops  which  held  the  hills  on  the  Tugela 
against  General  Buller,  in  a  movement  northwards  upon  the  southern 
camps  of  General  White.  The  chief  objective  points  were  two  camps 
lying  side  by  side,  known  as  Caesar's  Camp  and  Wagon  Hill.  The  former 
was  reached  by  the  enemy  who  moved  silently  and  quickly  about  3:00 
o'clock  in  the  morning^  At  9:00  General  White  was  able  to  send  a 
message  to  General  Buller  that  fighting  still  continued  while  every- 
where he  had  succeeded  in  holding  the  enemy  off.  At  mid-day  another 
message  was  sent  which  showed  that  the  Boers  were  conscious  of  being 
engaged  in  a  supreme  effort.  Although  driven  back  they  moved  for- 
ward again  in  great  numbers  both  from  the  south  and  north. 
General  White  bore  witness  in  his  last  message  that  the 
enemy  had  pushed  their  attack  with  the  greatest  courage  and 
energy,  and  the  last  words  which  the  heliograph  could  convey 
that  night  were  the  ominous  words — "Hard  Pressed."  The  Boer 
armies  were  determined  to  capture  the  intrenchments  of  Wagon  Hill 
which  would  bring  them  close  to  the  main  camp  and  so  make  their 
final  victory  practically  certain.  Three  times  during  the  awful  hours 


646  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

of  that  long,  long  day  did  the  enemy  charge  the  intrenchments  and 
drive  the  British  soldiers  from  them.  And  three  times  did  the  latter, 
under  Colonel  Ian  Hamilton,  return  to  the  attack  and  drive  the  enemy 
back  again.  One  position,  which  General  White  did  not  name,  was 
occupied  throughout  the  day  by  the  enemy,  but,  as  darkness  was  fall- 
ing, the  soldiers  of  the  Devonshire  regiment,  led  by  Colonel  Park,  ad- 
vanced against  this  point.  A  very  heavy  rain  storm  was  falling,  which 
thickened  the  air  and  made  progress  very  difficult.  Nevertheless  they 
charged  home  with  great  dash  and  gallantry  and  recovered  the  lost 
ground.  The  newspapers  had  some  thrilling  stories  of  the  incidents 
of  that  day,  for  during  these  attacks  and  counter  attacks  there  must 
have  been  heroic  deeds  as  well  as  ghastly  scenes.  General  White's 
troops  must  have  fought  with  a  courage  of  despair  throughout  those 
crushing  eighteen  hours.  The  impression  of  the  British  Commander 
wras  that  the  Boers  had  lost  much  more  heavily  than  he  did,  but  the 
usual  Transvaal  telegram  announced  that  after  15  hours  of  fighting 
and  facing  the  withering  fire  of  six  batteries  and  being  driven  back  at  all 
points,  they  had  four  killed  and  15  wounded!  It  was  reported  that  the 
soldiers  of  the  Free  State  were  those  who  suffered  most  in  this  battle. 

It  is  easy  to  criticise  after  the  event,  and  the  Boer  Commanders 
no  doubt  have  their  own  sad  experiences  from  the  war  experts  who 
decide  at  a  distance  wrhat  ought  and  what  ought  not  to  have  been 
done.  Some  have,  it  seems,  published  their  theories  that  General  Jou- 
bert  committed  a  great  mistake  in  making  this  effort;  that  it  disheart- 
ened his  own  men  by  showing  them  their  inability  to  attack  an  enemy 
even  after  having  held  him  for  two  months  in  a  close  investment.  But 
General  Joubert  has  quite  enough  to  say  on  the  other  side.  The  very 
fact  that  General  White  felt  the  strain  so  severely  and  that  he  tele- 
graphed at  one  point  that  he  had  little  hope  of  holding  out,  that  he 
wras  "hard  pressed,"  proves  that  General  Joubert  while  he  did  fail  and 
did  reap  the  unfortunate  fruits  of  failure,  yet  had  undertaken  no  foolish 
and  hopeless  adventure. 

During  the  month  of  February  General  Buller  made  one  effort  after 
another  to  cut  into  the  enemy's  lines  and  deliver  the  beleaguered  army 
in  Ladysmith.  Having  received  the  addition  of  the  fifth  division,  under 
Lieutenant-General  Sir  Charles  WTarren  with  10,000  men,  he  attempted 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  047 

to  attain  his  purpose  by  making  a  wide  movement  to  the  west.  First 
he  captured  a  drift,  called  Potgieter's  Drift,  higher  up  the  river  than 
Colenso,  and  crossed  some  of  his  troops  at  that  point.  In  the  mean- 
time Sir  Charles.  Warren  moved  still  further  west  until  he  reached 
a  ford  under  a  high  hill  called  Spion  Kop.  His  movements  here  were 
of  course  not  unopposed  by  the  enemy,  who  rapidly  spread  their  forces 
among  the  hills  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  westward  as  far  as  the 
British  went.  Some  of  General  Warren's  troops  had  to  cross  the  river 
under  fire,  but  they  succeeded  in  doing  so  and  drove  the  enemy  back 
from  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  river.  On  January  24th  Gen- 
eral WTarreu  sent  a  portion  of  his  troops  to  attack  Spion  Kop.  Bravely 
they  mounted  under  the  galling  fire  and  when  they  reached  the  top  they 
sent  the  Boers  flying  down  the  three  sides  of  the  hill.  All  night  they 
remained  there.  Efforts  were  made  to  secure  suitable  spots  for  the 
implacement  of  the  heavy  guns  but  these  could  not  be  dragged  up  the 
steep  slope.  The  soldiers  strove  to  dig  intrenchments  and  only  par- 
tially succeeded.  This  was  of  course  hard  work,  as  they  were  exposed 
to  a  shell-fire  from  the  tops  of  the  neighboring  hills  to  which  they  could 
not  reply.  Under  cover  of  this  fire  the  Boers  moved  again  up  the 
ascent  on  the  south  side  and  firing  with  accuracy  and  rapidity  they 
compelled  the  British  to  withdraw  after  a  fierce  and  desperate  struggle. 
General  Buller  at  once  saw  that  this  made  further  advance  at  that  point 
impossible  and  he  retired  with  his  troops  across  the  river. 

Once  more  the  British  people  throughout  the  world  had  their  ardor 
damped  and  their  hopes  darkened  by  reverse.  Undaunted,  General 
Buller  tried  again  and  again  to  secure  a  footing  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Tugela.  Every  time  that  he  won  some  point  which  promised  to  cut  into 
the  enemy's  lines,  he  was  compelled  to  withdraw  from  it.  Gradually  he 
moved  his  experiments  eastwards  until,  towards  the  end  of  February, 
having  driven  the  enemy  back  from  the  ground  which  they  had  occupied 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river  during  a  temporary  retirement  to  re-or- 
ganize his  troops,  he  once  more  resumed  his  way  towards  Ladysmith. 
The  experts  hazarded  the  guess,  and  not  without  reason,  that  General 
Buller  made  these  persistent  efforts,  even  when  there  seemed  not  much 
hope  of  success,  under  injunctions  from  Lord  Roberts  to  keep  the  enemy 
thoroughly  and  actively  employed.  For  Lord  Roberts  had  now  massed 


648  THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL. 

a  large  army  at  De  Aar  Junction  and  Modder  River,  and  was  preparing 
for  the  remarkable  turning  movement  by  which  he  suddenly  changed 
the  whole  direction  and  complexion  of  the  war.  General  Buller  was 
aided  in  his  further  attempts  to  reach  Ladysmith  by  this  success  in4  the 
central  scene  of  war.  For  the  Boer  Generals  were  compelled  to  deplete 
their  armies  in  Natal  in  order  to  defend  the  Orange  Free  State.  Day 
after  day  General  White's  men  saw  the  long  trains  of  wagons  and 
troops  moving  westwards  on  the  road  to  Van  Reenen's  Pass.  By  this 
time  the  long  confinement,  the  miserable  food  and  the  unsanitary  con- 
ditions had  so  reduced  the  energy  of  the  unhappy  men  that  they  had  no 
chance  of  making  any  attack.  They  could  only  wait,  ready  only  for 
self-defence,  but  eager  for  the  arrival  of  their  long  desired  deliverers.  In 
the  last  week  of  February  General  Buller  announced  that  he  had  dis- 
covered a  ford  below  the  waterfall,  had  moved  some  troops  across  at  that 
point  and  captured  the  impending  height  called  Pieter's  Hill.  The  Boers 
were  intrenched  in  sufficient  numbers  here  to  make  the  battle  a  long 
one,  lasting  for  several  days,  and  a  fierce  one,  costing  many  lives.  The 
British  had  to  press  painfully  up  the  hills,  making  for  themselves  shel- 
ters with  the  innumerable  stones  and  behind  the  rocks  which  covered 
the  bare  steep  sides  of  the  hills.  Day  and  night  some  of  them  served  in 
such  exposed  positions,  but  at  last  the  height  was  cleared  of  the  enemy 
and  the  road  into  Ladysmith  was  under  command. 

In  the  meantime,  as  it  afterwards  turned  out,  the  people  in  Lady- 
smith,  hearing  the  British  guns  drawing  closer  and  closer,  watched  with 
chagrin  the  long  line  of  retreating  Boers  as  they  moved  westwards 
towards  Van  Reenen's  Pass.  In  vain  they  longed  to  harass  their  retreat, 
for  their  animals  had  either  been  killed  for  food  or  were  too  weak  to  haul 
the  guns,  and  the  Boers  moved  beyond  their  range,  steadily  and  safely. 

General  Buller  immediately  sent  forward  Lord  Dundonald  with  his 
cavalry  to  explore  the  road  into  Ladysmith,  fearful  lest  still  the  enemy 
might  hold  some  unknown  point  of  vantage  on  the  way.  Carefully  they 
felt  along  the  wray  while  the  day  ended  and  darkness  deepened.  They 
moved  over  hill  and  valley,  rocky  road  and  grassy  slope  as  quickly  as 
possible  until  suddenly  pulled  up  by  the  challenge  of  a  British  picket, 
"Who  goes  there?"  The  thrilling  answer  was  "Ladysmith  relief  army." 
A  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning  broke  upon  the  scene,  giving  strange 


THE  INVASION  OF  NATAL.  649 

fitful  and  lurid  light  to  the  events  which  took  place  as  the  relieving 
cavalry  moved  on  towards  the  town.  As  the  news  spread  rapidly 
from  camp  to  camp  cheer  after  cheer  arose  from  the  half  frantic 
and  worn  out  heroes  of  the  siege.  When  Sir  George  White  and  his  staff 
rode  out  to  meet  their  deliverers  it  is  said  that  all  were  deeply  affected. 
It  seemed  too  good  to  grasp  at  last,  this  which  they  had  hoped  for  for 
long,  long  weeks,  which  seemed  often  to  approach  only  again  to  recede; 
which  had  tantalized  them  with  promise  and  with  disappointment.  Even 
the  little  children  were  excited,  gathering  in  groups  enthusiastic  and 
joyful.  It  is  said  that  General  White  passing  some  of  these  shouted  to 
them  cheerily,  "Plenty  of  sugar  and  jam  now.  No  more  siege  rations." 
The  relieving  army  were  saddened  and  depressed  by  the  appearance  of 
the  soldiers  whom  they  saw  in  the  camps  around  Ladysmith, — white- 
faced,  hollow-eyed,  weakened  men.  The  story  of  their  experience 
during  the  last  few  weeks  must  have  contained  most  harrowing  details. 
They  are  said  to  have  been  living  on  half  a  pound  of  meal  a  day  with 
horse  or  mule  flesh  added.  More  people  died  of  sickness  than  were 
killed  by  the  .rifles  or  shells  of  the  Boers.  Latterly  there  was  no  means 
of  restoring  the  vitality  of  any  upon  whom  disease  had  fastened  its" 
fangs;  to  lie  down  sick  meant  to  die.  Among  those  who  died  of  typhoid 
fever  was  the  brilliant  correspondent,  George  W.  Steevens. 

The  news  of  the  relief  of  Ladysmith,  following  as  it  did  the  story  of 
the  relief  of  Kimberley  and  the  surrender  of  General  Cronje  at  Paarcle- 
berg,  awoke  enthusiasm  throughout  the  British  army  and,  indeed, 
throughout  the  British  Empire.  Even  hostile  Europe,  jealous  of  Brit- 
ain's power,  Europe  anxious  to  see  Britain  humbled,  yet  dreads  to  see 
what  she  would  like  to  see.  For  Britain  humbled  or  the  British  Empire 
crushed  would  mean  an  alteration  so  profound  in  international  relations 
throughout  the  world,  that  not  the  wisest  political  seers  can  foretell 
what  would  follow;  no  nation  would  be  as  it  was  before  and  no  nation 
knows  in  advance  what  such  a  disaster  to  Great  Britain  would  mean  to 
itself.  Hostile  Europe  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief  and  began  to  say  less 
about  intervention.  In  South  Africa  the  relief  of  Ladysmith  meant  the 
deliverance  of  Natal.  Those  portions  of  Natal  which  were  annexed  to 
the  Transvaal  and  ruled  by  the  Boers  for  four  months,  were  speedily 
reoccupied  and  the  colony  begun  to  resume  its  natural  ways  again. 


CHAPTER  II. 
INVASION    OF    CAPE    COLONY. 

THE  united  armies*  of  the  Transvaal  and  the  Orange  Free  State 
were  not  content  with  the  invasion  of  Natal,  they  had  reasons  also 
for  at  once  crossing  the  frontiers  into  Cape  Colony.  This  they  did 
at  various  points.  In  the  far  west  they  attacked  the  town  of  Mafeking 
where  Colonel  Baden-Powell  had  been  busily  fortifying  his  position, 
which  he  defended  with  less  than  a  thousand  men.  Another  column 
attacked  Kimberley,  beginning  the.  siege  only  three  or  four  days  after 
the  declaration  of  war  and  quickly  making  the  investment  complete. 
Other  forces  invaded  the  Cape  Colony  from  the  southeastern  corner  of 
the  Orange  Free  State,  making  for  Aliwal  North  and  pushing  on  even 
as  far  as  Queenstown.  Various  commandos  were  sent  across  the  bor- 
ders at  different  points  and  these  proceeded  to  occupy  such  places  as 
Vryburg,  Taungs,  Barkly  West,  near  Kimberley,  and  Kuruman,  the 
famous  mission  station.  In  some  of  these  places  only  a  feeble  resistance 
was  presented  to  the  invaders,  indeed  at  several  of  them  the  Dutch  sym- 
pathizers were  so  strong  as  to  compel  the  loyalists  to  submit  as  cheer- 
fully as  possible  and  allow  the  enemy  to  take  possession.  Kuruman, 
where  a  British  Resident  lives,  was  besieged  for  a  considerable  time 
and  held  out  with  great  patience  and  courage.  The  beleaguered  force 
was,  however,  too  small  and  untrained  to  make  a  successful  defence 
possible.  Wherever  the  Boers  obtained  possession  of  a  town  or  a  dis- 
trict they  at  once  manifested  their  ultimate  purpose  by  proclaiming  its 
annexation.  Evidence  is  accumulating  that  in  some  places  where  the 
loyalists  fled  from  their  farms,  the  farms  were  at  once  occupied  by  others 
who  no  doubt  expected,  if  their  armies  triumphed,  to  hold  them  as  their 
permanent  property.  Great  confusion  was  created  in  these  districts  by 
the  fact  that  through  these  months  the  territories  were  treated  as  practi- 
cally under  the  Government  of  the  Federal  forces,  and  that  not  merely 
for  military  but  even  for  civil  purposes. 

650 


THE  INVASION  OF  CAPE  COLONY.  G51 

THE  SIEGE  OF  KIMBERLEY. 

Kimberley,  just  before  the  attack  of  the  enemy,  received  for  its  de- 
fence a  British  regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Kekewich.  As  soon  as 
war  appeared  to  be  imminent  the  civic  authorities  began  to  prepare  for 
the  attack  which  they  knew  would  inevitably  be  made  upon  the  great 
diamond  town.  To  add  at  once  to  the  interest  and  the  complications  of 
the  situation  Mr.  Cecil  Khodes  hastened  from  Cape  Town  to  Kimberley 
and  at  once  made  up  his  mind  to  remain  there  to  the  end.  His  presence 
undoubtedly  did  something  to  encourage  a  certain  section  of  the  citizens, 
and  he  appears  to  have  put  great  energy  into  the  work  of  restraining  the 
native  population.  It  has  been  reported  that  he  set  large  bands  of 
natives  to  the  task  of  laying  out  a  new  suburb  for  the  town.  This 

* 

consisted  in  making-  streets  and  planting  trees.  One  of  the  avenues 
the  world  knows  already  is  to  be  called  "Siege  Avenue."  Undoubtedly 
it  needed  a  strong  hand  and  the  possession  of  money  to  control  the 
thousands  of  black  people  who  were  locked  up  in  the  city  when  the 
siege  began.  Most  of  these  did  not  belong  to  the  town  and  were  there 
simply  as  mining  laborers  on  contract  for  a  definite  period.  If  they 
had  got  out  of  hand  through  the  pressure  of  famine  or  danger  of  any 
other  kind  it  would  have  been  a  serious  matter  for  the  entire  population. 
At  one  time  it  is  said  that  the  Boers  were  asked  whether  they  would 
allow  some  thousands  of  these  to  pass  through  their  lines,  but  they, 
naturally,  thinking  of  their  own  interests  and  of  the  increasing  difficul- 
ties which  the  presence  of  the  natives  made  for  the  inhabitants,  abso- 
lutely refused  the  request.  » 

The  town  of  Kimberley  stands  on  a  flat  plain  and  the  military  author- 
ities set  to  work  at  once  to  make  the  best  of  their  position.  They  had 
the  immense  advantage  of  being  able  to  use  the  huge  heaps  of  debris 
from  the  mines  for  purposes  of  fortification,  and  for  making  bomb-proof 
refuges  for  the  women  and  children.  Upon  these  artificial  heights 
searchlights  were  placed  which  not  only  served  to  reveal  attempted 
movements  of  the  enemy,  but  also  to  flash  messages  to  the  British  forces 
under  Lord  Methuen,  some  twenty  miles  away.  The  citizens  provided 
a  large  number  of  volunteers,  both  for  medical  service  and  for  active 
warfare.  These,  at  the  very  beginning  of  the  trouble,  showed  them- 


(552  .      THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE   COLONY. 

selves  possessed  of  all  the  qualities  necessary  to  make  a  volunteer  force 
effective.  On  their  first  trial  summons,  by  means  of  signal  bells  and 
whistles,  they  rushed  from  their  homes  and  businesses  to  their  respective 
places  of  rendezvous,  astonishing  and  delighting  the  Colonel  in  com- 
mand with  their  quickness  and  courage.  In  addition  to  internal  means 
of  defence,  extensive  defences  were  erected  all  round  the  town  by  means 
of  barb-wire  fences,  which  in  this  war  have  been  over  and  over  again 
proved  to  be  so  baffling  to  an  enemy.  The  fighting  at  Kimberley 
was  less  exciting  than  anywhere  else.  The  forces  were  not  able  to 
make  effective  sorties  on  more  than  one  or  two  occasions,  while  the 
Boers  wrere,  of  course,  unable  to  cross  the  open  plain  and  come 
within  a  distance  which  would  make  hard  fighting  possible.  The 
outside  world,  therefore,  was  only  able  to  hear,  from  time  to  timo, 
that  all  was  well,  and  yet  that  the  distress  of  the  inhabitants  was  in- 
creasing week  by  week  as  food  decreased  and  as  the  supplies  of  water 
became  precarious.  The  wTomen  and  little  children  wrere,  it  seems,  sent 
down  into  the  mines  or  into  passages  excavated  in  the  debris  heaps 
while  active  bombardment  was  proceeding.  Altogether  120  people,  most 
of  whom  were  natives,  have  been  reported  as  killed  in  the  course  of  the 
operations. 

As  soon  as  General  Buller  was  able  to  gather  his  troops  at  Cape 
Town  he  sent  forward  a  strong  force  under  General  Lord  Methuen  to 
undertake  the  relief  of  Kimberley.  With  remarkable  rapidity  he  col- 
lected his  troops  on  the  Orange  River,  which  he  was  allowed  to  cross 
near  Hopetown,  and  then  to  begin  his  movements  northwards.  His 
first  battle  was  onthe  ridges  of  Belmont.  On  the  morning  of  November 
23rd  he  sent  his  troops  against  the  enemy,  who  were  intrenched  on  the 
first  ridge.  He  had  the  good  fortune  to  command  a  naval  brigade,  which 
rendered  here  as  at  Ladysmith  most  important  service  with  their  guns. 
But  the  brunt  of  the  battle  was  borne  by  his  infantry,  whom  Lord 
Methuen  sent  in  frontal  attack  to  capture  one  after  another  of  three 
ridges  in  succession.  Each  time  his  own  men  suffered  severely  but 
swept  up  the  steep  ascent  and,  bayoneting  the  enemy,  drove  them  back 
with  irresistible  force  and  most  brilliant  courage.  The  Boers,  as  Lord 
Methuen  confessed,  fought  both  with  courage  and  skill,  so  bravely  in- 
deed that  it  was  evident  if  they  had  had  time  to  intrench  themselves 


THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE  COLONY.  653 

more  thoroughly  the  British  losses  would  have  been  far  greater.  In 
three  days  he  had  moved  forward  to  another  station  on  the  railway 
line  called  Graspan,  and  here  on  the  25th,  at  6  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
he  began  his  second  battle.  It  was  calculated  that  about  2,500  Boers 
with  six  guns  and  two  machine  guns  were  ready  to  meet  him.  Once 
more  the  fighting  was  desperate,  but  once  more  the  Boer  forces  were 
compelled  to  retire.  A  minor  fight  at  Honey  Nest  Kloof  completed  the 
opening  of  the  railroad  to  the  Modder  River.  Once  across  the  Modder 
River  it  seemed  as  though  Lord  Methuen  would  speedily  be  able  to 
reach  Kimberley,  which  was  only  about  twenty  miles  farther  north. 
He  was  allowed  to  cross  and  found  himself  confronted  by  the  enemy 
who  occupied  a  long  high  kopje,  at  Magersfontein. 

Lord  Methuen  made  up  his  mind  "on  December  llth  to  carry  this  new 
position,  and  was  naturally  tempted  to  do  it  in  somewhat  the  same 
way  as  that  which  had  proved  so  successful  on  former  occasions.  His 
attack  was  evidently  very  carefully  planned.  The  enemy  before  him 
were  intrenched  on  their  heights,  and  it  was  his  object  to  turn  their  left 
wing  so  as  at  once  to  cut  off  their  retreat  to  the  Orange  Free  State  and 
to  open  the  direct  road  to  Kimberley.  The  form  of  his  attack  which 
ended  in  disaster  has  been  ever  since  that  fatal  day  a  subject  of  con- 
stant discussion  and  criticism.  Criticism  concentrates  itself  upon  the 
use  which  he  made  of  his  magnificent  Highland  brigade,  which  was 
under  the  command  of  General  A.  G.  Wauchope,  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  popular  officers  in  the  British  army.  The  fighting  began  with  an 
attempt  to  surprise  the  enemy  on  the  British  right  by  a  forward  march 
before  daybreak.  The  Highlanders  were  sent  forward  with  a  view  of 
reaching  the  trenches  and  using  their  bayonets  before  the  Boers  could 
leap  to  their  feet  and  use  their  Mauser  rifles.  Various  war  correspond- 
ents have  described  in  a  most  thrilling  manner  the  experiences  of  that 
strange  and  awful  morning.  Some  of  the  soldiers  lost  their  way  in 
the  dark;  the  main  body  moved  straight  forward,  but  through  some  acci- 
dent gave  warning  to  the  enemy,  who  immediately  turned  the  search- 
light upon  them.  There  stood  disclosed  to  the  Boer  soldiers  the  High- 
landers moving  in  close  formation  a  very  short  distance  away.  It  was 
the  work  of  a  moment  for  the  defenders  of  the  trenches  to  leap  to  their 
feet  and  pour  in  upon  the  almost  solid  mass  of  blinded,  startled,  dis- 


654  THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE  COLONY. 

ordered  men  a  terrific  and  annihilating  rifle  fire.  Scores  of  Highlanders 
fell  and  amongst  them  their  magnificent  and  inspiring  leader  himself. 
Even  as  he  lay,  with  bullets  in  him,  he  cheered  on  his  brave  fellows. 
It  is  said,  and  the  incident  has  added  largely  to  the  intense  feeling 
of  the  public  throughout  the  civilized  world,  that  General  Wauchope 
deprecated  the  movement  upon  which  he  was  sent,  and  as  they  set  out 
in  the  dark  to  attack  an  enemy  they  could  not  see  and  whose  strength 
they -did  not  know,  he  protested  to  his  men  that  they  must  not  blame 
him  for  the  mad  adventure.  However  that  be,  mad  adventure  it  un- 
doubtedly was..  When  daylight  broke  gradually  upon  the  wide  ex- 
tended battlefield  it  was  to  show  that  some  miles  to  the  left  Lord 
Methuen  had  sent  his  cavalry,  his  mounted  infantry  and  a  battery,  and 
that  they  were  doing  their  best  to  get  at  the  enemy  on  their  side.  All 
day  long  the  battle  raged,  time  after  time  the  Highlanders  were  sent 
forward  to  attack  the  enemy  in  their  trenches  and  among  the  trees 
where  they  lay  hidden.  It  was  a  fearful  thing  to  watch  the  baffled  men 
go  back  at  the  word  of  command  in  open  formation,  moving  forward 
without  being  able  to  see  the  enemy,  to  watch  them  as  they  came  near 
the  dreaded  line  and  began  to  fall  one  by  one.  Those  who  survived 
moved  on  with  short  rushes  or  cast  themselves  on  the  ground,  until  at 
last  the  bravest  heart  rebelled  against  the  useless  and  maddening  sacri- 
fice and  turned  to  move  slowly  to  the  starting  point,  looking  over  his 
shoulder  sternly  yet  fearfully  every  moment  as  if  to  see  what  was  hap- 
pening, or  if  anything  was  moving  among  the  horrid  trees  that  concealed 
the  secret  of  death.  Lord  Methuen  summed  the  day's  work  up  when  he 
announced  that  the  attack  had  failed  and  that  his  loss  was  great.  Next 
day  he  was  compelled  to  retire  and  moved  back  to  his  camp  on  the 
Modder  River.  He  had  succeeded  in  taking  some  prisoners,  who  told  him 
that  his  enemies  had  also  lost  heavily  under  the  searching  fire  of  shrap- 
nel and  the  shock  of  lyddite  shell. 

The  news  of  this  reverse  struck  horror  and  shame  to  the  hearts 
of  the  British  everywhere.  It  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  most  humiliat- 
ing reverses.  It  was  still  hoped  that  Lord  Methuen  might  be  able  to 
develop  some  form  of  attack  which  would  turn  the  enemy's  flank  and 
enable  him  to  reach  his  destination,  and  as  news  came  at  intervals,  time 
after  time,  of  movements  made  by  certain  of  his  cavalry  forces  west- 


THE  INVASION  OF  CAPE  COLONY.  655 

wards  even  as  far  as  Douglas  the  hope  of  a  general  advance  was  always 
reawakened.  Nevertheless  the  weeks  and  months  passed  and  Lord 
Methuen  was  unable  to  make  another  effort,  beyond  continuing  long 
range  firing  upon  the  trenches  of  the  Boers.  In  the  meantime  the  latter 
made  their  mountain  like  a  fortress.  They  made  tunnels  and  deep, 
wide  trenches  through  which  their  men  and  even  their  guns-  were 
moved  with  great  rapidity  unseen  by  their  enemy.  It  would  appear 
that  General  Cronje,  who  here  commanded  the  Boers,  was  so  sure  of 
victory  that  he  allowed  his  people  to  bring  women  and  children  in  their 
wagons  and  these  lived  with  the  army  through  all  the  weeks  until  the 
14th  of  February. 

The  result  of  these  reverses  in  Great  Britain  was  the  arousing  of 
the  entire  nation  and  all  its  colonies  to  fresh  and  extraordinary  exer- 
tions. It  was  resolved  at  once  to  send  out  50,000  more  men  with  full 
equipment,  and  to  dispatch  Field-Marshal  Lord  Roberts  as  Commander- 
in-Chief,  with  Lord  Kitchener  as  his  Chief  of  Staff.  The  appointment 
of  these  two  brilliant  Generals  was  received  with  great  enthusiasm 
throughout  the  British  Empire,  and  was  considered  by  the  Boer  leaders 
as  a  great  compliment  to  their  armies,  their  skill  and  their  prowess. 

Lord  Roberts  is  peculiarly  beloved  throughout  the  British  army  and 
is  usually  spoken  of  by  his  soldiers  as  "Bobs"  or  even  as  "Little  Bobs." 
He  was  born  in  India,  where  his  father  was  in  service  before  him,  and 
he  himself  spent  41  years  in  India,  whose  history  he  has  described  in 
two  large,  important  and  fascinating  volumes.  He  was  one  of  the 
younger  heroes  of  the  mutiny,  when  he  displayed  undaunted  courage; 
and  he  earned  the  Victoria  Cross  while  yet  a  young  Lieutenant.  His  pro- 
motion was  steady  and  he  passed  from  grade  to  grade  until  he  reached 
his  present  position  of  supremacy  in  the  military  world  of  the  British 
Empire.  He  was  noted  from  the  beginning  not  only  for  his  brilliant 
ability  as  an  officer  but  for  his  geniality  and  wisdom  as  a  man.  He  is 
at  once  a  stern  fighter,  a  genius  in  strategy  and  a  diplomatist  of  the 
first  order.  His  appointment  to  South  Africa  was  almost  coincident 
with  the  news  of  the  death  of  his  son  at  the  battle  of  Colenso,  and  he 
himself  is  far  on  towards  70  years  of  age.  But  at  the  call  of  his  country 
he  accepted  the  huge  responsibility  laid  upon  him  and  proceeded  speed- 
ily to  the  Cape. 


65G  THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE  COLONY. 

Lord  Kitchener  was  in  the  Soudan  of  course  and  there  received  his 
appointment  by  telegram.  With  the  promptitude  and  energy  of  his 
unique  personality  he  started  immediately  and  was  able  to  join  the  ship 
on  which  Lord  Roberts  sailed,  when  it  called  at  the  island  of  Madeira. 
Lord  Kitchener's  portrait  has  been  once  for  all  clearly  and  almost 
startlingly  set  forth  in  George  W.  Steevens'  rapid  but  powerful  sketches 
entitled  "With  Kitchener  to  Khartoum."  Lord  Kitchener  is  yet  under 
50  years  of  age  and  has  spent  nearly  all  his  military  life  in  Palestine 
and  Egypt.  He  is  beyond  all  others  the  organizing  genius  of  the  British 
army.  Mr.  Steevens  shows  that  the  subjugation  of  the  Soudan  was 
due  to  Lord  Kitchener's  extraordinary  power  of  organization.  Patiently, 
silently  he  prepared  all  the  steps  necessary  not  only  for  smashing  the 
terrific  Dervish  army,  but  also  for  henceforth  holding  the  Soudan.  He 
it  is  upon  whom  Lord  Roberts  relies  for  attending  to  every  detail  in 
the  vital  department  of  transport.  No  stronger  combination  could  have 
been  found  by  any  country  than  that  which  is  presented  in  the  brains 
of  these  two  men,  and  the  events  in  South  Africa  which  immediately 
followed  their  arrival  on  the  scene  of  operations  fully  vindicated  their 
appointment  in  combination. 

Lord  Roberts  as  soon  as  he  arrived  began  to  showT  his  power  as  a 
diplomatist.  He  selected  his  body  guard  from  colonial  troops,  he  issued 
a  proclamation  announcing  at  once  the  firm  determination  of  Great 
Britain  to  win  in  the  struggle  against  an  enemy  who  had  invaded  her 
territories,  but  also  announcing  the  clemency  of  the  British  authorities, 
their  desire  to  injure  no  one  unnecessarily,  to  conduct  the  war  humanely 
and  even  to  treat  rebels  with  consideration  if  they  should  surrender. 
He  has  made  several  other  proclamations  which  have  all  tended  to  as- 
suage bitterness  and  to  create  confidence  in  the  integrity  of  Great 
Britain.  He  delivered  a  remarkable  speech  to  the  Highland  Brigade 
which  suffered  so  terribly  at  the  battle  of  Magersfontein.  In  this  speech 
he  said  that  the  Highlanders  had  made  him;  that  he  had  never  yet  fought 
without  having  Highlanders  as  a  portion  of  his  force,  and  that  he  relied 
upon  them  most  thoroughly  to  aid  him  in  this  struggle.  No  appeal 
could  possibly  have  been  more  thrilling  and  eloquent  than  that  which 
he  thus  addressed  to  his  trusted  Highland  troops,  smarting  from  their 
sore  experience  at  Magersfontein.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  every 


THE  INVASION    OF   CAPE   COLONY.  (357 

man  of  them  would  willingly  rush  into  any  struggle  at  the  command  of 
Lord  Roberts. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  Highland  Brigade  was  by  this  time 
placed  under  the  command  of  General  Hector  Macdonald,  another 
of  the  most  popular  heroes  of  the  British  army.  He  began  his  career 
as  a  private  soldier,  the  son  of  a  poor  farmer  in  the  north  of  Scotland. 
He  early  distinguished  himself  for  his  intrepidity  and  was  marked  out 
by  Lord  Roberts  for  advancement.  His  extraordinary  courage  'as  well 
as  his  power  as  a  leader  of  men  won  for  him  his  promotion  and  appoint- 
ment as  a  commissioned  officer.  He  has  fought  in  many  wars  and  seen 
many  desperate  fights.  It  is  said  that  on  one  occasion  he  was  one  of  two 
men  who  out  of  a  little  company  of  nineteen  alone  survived  a  terrific 
fight  on  an  exposed  position.  He  was  on  Majuba  Hill  also  on- that  fatal 
day  and  resisted  to  the  last.  It  is  said  that  one  Boer  who  approached 
him  was  knocked  down  with  his  fist,  and  another  was  about  to  shoot  him 
when  a  third,  a  wounded  Boer,  threw  up  his  gun,  saying,  "Do  not  shoot 
him,  for  this  is  a  brave  man."  He  was  in  the  Soudan  campaign  under 
Lord  Kitchener,  and  there  again  he  fully  maintained  the  reputation 
which  has  earned  the  sobriquet  of  "Fighting  Mac." 

Several  weeks  passed  during  which  the  two  Generals  were  busy  with 
preparations  necessary  to  reorganize  the  scattered  forces  as  well  as 
to  educe  out  of  the  confusion  some  unity  of  plan  and  purpose.  During 
this  period  Lord  Roberts  remained  at  Cape  Town.  At  last  early  in 
February  it  was  announced  that  he  had  gone  to  the  front,  and  men's 
hearts  all  over  the  world  beat  quicker  as  they  read  the  news.  He  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Modder  River,  where  he  had  without  any  display  gathered 
a  large  army.  He  summoned  to  his  side  General  French,  who  had  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  cavalry  operations  in  the  Colesberg  district, 
and  gave  into  his  charge  a  large  cavalry  brigade,  which  immediately 
proved  to  be  of  immense  power.  He  sent  occasional  parties  westward 
and  allowed  General  Oonje  to  believe  that  the  fight  would  be  continued 
on  the  lines  marked  out  by  Lord  Methuen,  that  his  main  purpose  was 
to  move  directly  on  the  railway  line  towards  Kimberley,  probably  to 
pass  on  towards  Mafeking.  But  on  February  13th  he  began  a  series  of 
swift  movements  in  an  easterly  direction,  which  fairly  startled  both 
the  enemy  and  the  entire  world  that  was  keenly  watching  developments. 


658  THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE  COLONY. 

General  French  was  sent  forward  with  a  large  force  of  cavalry  to  cross 
the  Modder  River  at  a  drift  considerably  to  the  east.  This  force  was 
followed. up  by  others,  which  were  accompanied  by  Lord  Roberts  him- 
self and  his  staff.  He  moved  his  headquarters  camp  to  Jacobsdahl, 
from  which  the  enemy  had  been  driven.  He  was  now  in  the  Orange 
Free  State  and  the  inhabitants  were  surprised  to  find  that  the  British 
soldiers  did  not  loot  their  homes  and  help  themselves  to  everything  in 
their  stores.  On  the  contrary  perfect  order  prevailed.,  At  every  shop- 
door  a  British  sentry  was  posted  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  take  any- 
thing except  for  payment.  In  the  meantime  the  advance  troops  had 
made  their  way  forward.  General  French  swept  one  small  party  after 
another  from  before  his  path  and  then  with  a  sudden  dash  struck  north- 
westward, and  before  the  enemy  realized  or  could  defeat  his  purpose  he 
was  at  Kimberley,  and  the  besieged  town  was  relieved! 

General  Cronje  had  no  doubt  made  up  his  mind  for  a  very  fierce 
battle  and  was  determined  to  occupy  the  positions  which  he  had  made 
so  strong  at  Magersfontein,  but  when  the  news  came  that  Lord  Roberts' 
army  was  on  the  left  cutting  him  off  from  the  Orange  Free  State  and 
that  General  French  had  started  for  Kimberley  it  became  evident  that 
his  position  was  desperate  indeed.  Hurriedly,  on  that  dark  night,  the 
active  and  energetic  Boer  commander  gathered  all  his  forces  together 
and  struck  out  eastward.  His  convoy  was  hauled  by  slowT-going  oxen 
which  hampered  his  movements  exceedingly.  Through  the  dark  they 
pushed  on  and  on,  the  tired  oxen  lashed  and  lashed  again  to  make  them 
drag  their  weary  steps.  It  is  said  that  they  were  compelled  to  cover 
during  that  night  and  the  next  day  no  less  a  distance  than  thirty  miles, 
an  ox-wagon  journey  that  can  hardly  have  been  excelled  in  all  South 
African  history.  General  Cronje  slipped  through  between  the  rear  of 
General  French's  force  and  the  advance  guard  of  Lord  Roberts's  main 
army.  It  is  said  that  the  latter  were  detained  by  a  drift  which  was 
deeper  than  they  expected  to  find  it,  and  that  if  this  had  not  been  the 
case  the  gap  which  allowed  General  Cronje  to  pass  through  would  never 
have  existed. 

At  Kimberley,  of  course,  rejoicings  filled  the  air  with  great  shouts 
and  songs  of  triumph.  The  beleaguered  inhabitants  had  for  some  time 
suffered  great  distress  from  lack  of  food.  Thev  had  been  reduced  to 


-THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE   COLONY.  659 

horseflesh,  at  which  it  is  said  the  women  and  children  fairly  sickened. 
Nevertheless  the  town  itself  remained  as  a  whole  in  good  health,  there 
being  but  little  fever  and  the  water  supply  having  been  maintained. 
Lord  Roberts  made  a  hurried  visit  to  the  town,  where  he  at  once  authori- 
tatively set  some  tilings  right  that  evidently  had  been  confused  by  an 
attempted  struggle  for  authority  between  the  Colonel  in  command  and 
certain  civilians.  Mr.  Rhodes  held  a  meeting  of  the  De  Beers  Com- 
pany, at  which  he  spoke  with  enthusiasm  and  high  hope  of  the  issue 
and  results  of  the  war,  and  asserted  that  "the  greatest  commercial  asset 
in  the  world"  is  "Her  Majesty's  flag." 

In  the  meantime  Lord  Roberta's  army  was  in  pursuit  of  the  Boer 
army,  who  were  overtaken  on  the  Modder  River,  where  they  had  seized 
the  banks  and  intrenched  themselves  near  Paardeberg.  Lord  Roberts 
speedily  surrounded  them  and  attempted  reinforcements  were  beaten 
off  in  detail  by  General  French's  swift  and  resistless  cavalry.  For 
the  first  time  the  Boer  commanders  found  themselves  confronted  on 
open  ground  with  cavalry  forces  as  mobile  as  their  own.  In  every  direc- 
tion in  which  they  moved  they  were  outwitted  and  their  advance  was 
checked.  General  Cronje  held  out  for  ten  days  while  "all  the  world 
wondered."  His  people  burrowed  holes  in  the  banks  of  the  river,  where 
they  took  refuge  beyond  the  reach  of  danger.  General  Roberts  placed 
his  guns  so  as  to  command  the  entire  Boer  camp,  which  at  first  measured 
about  a  mile  square.  By  night  and  day  a  terrific  bombardment  took 
place,  which  must  have  resulted  in  the  deaths  of  many,  but  which  prob- 
ably produced  more  terror  than  actual  destruction  of  human  life.  It 
was  said  that  General  Cronje  himself  desired  to  surrender  but  was 
restrained  by  his  younger  men.  On  the  other  hand  some  of  the  pris- 
oners afterwards  declared  that  he  ought  to  have  surrendered  sooner 
than  he  did,  and  that  holding  out  had  meant  a  needless  sacrifice  of  life 
and  needless  misery  to  his  people.  There  were  women  and  children  in 
considerable  numbers  in  that  terrible  camp  throughout  all  the  fierce  and 
crushing  terrors  of  those  da}Ts.  No  doubt  General  Cronje  was  encour- 
aged to  hold  out  by  the  hope  that  reinforcements  would  be  able  to 
reach  him  and  as  he  heard  the  sounds  of  fighting  from  time  to  time  he 
was  led  on  day  after  day  by  this  hope.  At  last  on  the  night  of  the  26th, 
some  of  Lord  Roberts's  troops,  which  included  the  Canadian  volunteers, 


G60  THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE  COLONY, 

reduced  the  distance  between  them  and  the  camp  from  600  to  200  yards. 
This  was  done  by  brilliant  work  on  the  part  of  the  Canadians  during  the 
night,  and  they  held  their  position,  where  they  had  intrenched  them- 
selves, the  next  day  with  magnificent  determination.  This  seemed  to 
take  the  heart  out  of  General  Cronje  and  his  advisers.  On  the  morning 
of  February  27th  the  Boer  General  sent  a  letter  to  Lord  Roberts  in 
which  he  stated  that  he  surrendered  unconditionally.  Lord  Roberts  then 
demanded  that  he  himself  must  appear  at  the  British  camp  and  that 

« 

his  forces  must  lay  down  their  arms  and  come  out  of  their  laager.  This 
accordingly  was  done.  The  General  walked  out  and  was  met  by  his 
victorious  enemy  with  great  courtesy  and  kindness,  his  first  words  being, 
"I  am  glad  to  see  you,  sir.  You  are  a  brave  man."  The  dejected  Boer 
leader  asked  for  kind  treatment,  and  also  asked  that  wherever  he  was  to 
be  sent  his  wife  and  grandson,  his  private  secretary  and  others  might 
be  sent  with  him.  All  his  requests  were  promptly  complied  with,  and 
he  was  conveyed  to  Cape  Town  under  the  charge  of  a  Major-General,  who 
handed  him  over  to  the  General-in-Command  at  that  place.  The  pris- 
oners, who  numbered  nearly  4,000,  were  sent  in  detachments  in  the  same 
direction. 

Needless  to  say,  this  event  produced  immense  joy  throughout  Great 
Britain,  while  the  Boers  and  their  friends  everywhere  appreciated 
the  significance  of  the  disaster  to  their  interests.  The  fact  that  the 
surrender  occurred  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Majuba  Hill 
could  not  fail,  of  course,  to  awaken  various  feelings  according  to  the 
character  to  men.  Perhaps  those  who  make  war  their  profession  and 
to  whom  military  pride  is  very  dear,  may  in  some  measure  be  forgiven 
for  their  joy  over  the  fact  that  in  this  wray  Majuba  had  been,  as  they 
would  say,  avenged.  Nevertheless,  there  are  multitudes  of  Britons  to 
whom  thoughts  of  vengeance  even  in  connection  with  the  war  are  for- 
bidden, and  who  deprecate  the  suggestion  that  Great  Britain  is  seeking 
to  recover  any  honor  that  she  lost  on  that  distant  and  fateful  day. 

The  surrender  of  General  Cronje  hastened  the  departure  of  the  troops 
from  around  Ladysmith.  It  struck  dismay  to  the  hearts,  especially 
of  the  inhabitants  and  soldiers  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  They  now 
saw  a  considerable  part  of  their  own  Republic  occupied  by  the  British 


THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE   COLONY.  661 

armies,  with  no  prospect  of  any  army  being  rallied  strong  enough  to 
drive  them  back. 

It  became  evident  that  henceforth  the  question  was  not  whether  the 
Boer  armies  could  conquer  the  British  colonies,  but  how  soon  the  British 
armies  could  complete  the  invasion  of  the  Orange  Free  State  and  over- 
whelm the  Transvaal. 

THE  SIEGE  OF  MAFEKING. 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  picturesque  portions  of  the  entire  story 
of  the  war  is  undoubtedly  the  siege  of  Mafeking.  This  town  is  on  the 
extreme  north  of  the  Cape  Colony,  close  to  the  borders  of  the  Transvaal, 
and  on  the  railway  between  Kimberley  and  Buluwayo,  about  200  miles 
north  of  the  former  town.  In  the  end  of  September  it  was  occupied 
by  Colonel  R.  S.  Baden-Powell.  He  could  only  muster  less  than  a 
thousand  men  fit  for  war.  Knowing  that  this  was  one  of  the  points 
which  the  Boers  would  be  sure  to  attack  immediately,  Colonel  Baden- 
Powell  set  to  work  to  prepare  for  that  event.  He  knew  that  the  siege 
might  be  a  long  one  if  his  communications  with  the  south  were  cut  off. 
He  accordingly  gathered  in  all  the  provisions  that  he  could,  as  well 
as  cattle,  and  proceeded  to  fortify  the  place  as  thoroughly  as  possible. 
He  selected  the  sites  for  his  forts  and  connected  them  with  the  center 
of  the  town  by  means  of  telephone  wires.  He  erected  a  bomb-proof 
shelter  on  a  central  spot  for  himself  and  his  staff.  He  also  caused  bomb- 
proof shelters  to  be  dug  in  the  ground  in  various  parts  of  the  town.  He 
selected  a  place  as  the  women's  laager  where  the  wives  and  children  of 
the  inhabitants  could  be  gathered,  which  would  be  marked  off  somewhat 
from  the  rest  of  the  towTn,  so  that  the  Boers  could  recognize  it  and  avoid 
deliberately  shelling  it.  For  a  time  he  tried  to  keep  command  of  the 
railroad  by  means  of  his  armored  train.  When  at  last  the  road,  both 
southwards  and  northwards,  was  cut  off  it  is  said  that  he  laid  rails 
round  the  town  so  that  his  armored  train  could  carry  help  to  any  part 
where  it  was  suddenly  needed. 

When  the  Transvaal  troops  arrived  they  met  with  a  warm  reception, 
but  inasmuch  as  they  were  several  thousand  strong  and  were  well  armed 
both  with  rifles  and  big  guns,  they  were  able  gradually  to  drive  the 
Colonel's  soldiers  back  upon  their  lines  of  defence  and  to  hold  them 


G62  THE  INVASION   OF  CAPE   COLONY. 

there  for  the  ensuing  five  months.  Throughout  that  long  period  Mafe- 
king  was  without  reinforcement  of  any  kind.  It  was  left  to  Colonel 
Baden-Powell  himself  to  discover  methods  for  keeping  his  numerous 
and  ingenious  and  aggressive  enemy  at  bay.  While  thus  planning  with 
great  resourcefulness  for  his  successive  efforts  to  dishearten  the  foe,  he 
was  compelled  also  to  discover  ways  of  keeping  up  the  hearts  of  the 
besieged.  The  civil  population  as  well  as  the  military  required  to  be 
kept  in  good  humor  and  of  good  courage.  It  will  stand  to  the  honor  of 
his  name  for  many  years  to  come  that  he  has  succeeded  so  brilliantly 
in  both  directions.  His  cheery  messages  have  amused  and  surprised  and 
thrilled  all  readers.  He  has  succeeded  from  time  to  time  in  getting  dis- 
patches through  the  lines  of  the  enemy;  no  doubt  this  was  done  most 
frequently  by  means  of  native  carriers  who  in  the  dark  could  slip 
silently  through  the  pickets  of  the  Boer  force,  carrying  in  the  corner  of  a 
skin,  or  in  the  bowl  of  a  pipe,  or  in  the  handle  of  a  spear  a  little  roll 
of  paper  with  the  precious  words  upon  it  which  the  world  hungered  to 
hear. 

Colonel  Baden-Powell  has  frequently  made  sorties  against  the 
enemy,  in  some  of  which  he  has  signally  succeeded  and  others  of  which 
have  been  disheartening  failures.  It  is  said  that  at  first  he  used  to 
send  his  men  out  at  night  to  attack  the  Boers  in  their  trenches.  The 
latter  in  the  earlier  days  were  surprised  and  lost  heavily  in  this  way, 
but  they  learned  to  take  precaution  against  these  tricks  and  latterly 
they  were  seldom  if  ever  attempted.  One  night,  as  the  story  goes,  24 
hours  after  one  of  these  sorties  had  been  made,  a  red  light  was  sent 
out  of  the  town  and  placed  on  a  spot  about  the  middle  of  the  plain,  where, 
as  soon  as  it  was  suddenly  uncovered,  it  at  once  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  enemy.  The  latter  thereupon  spent  the  remainder  of  the  night  in 
expending  a  vast  amount  of  ammunition  where  there  was  no  enemy. 

Towards  the  end  of  February  Lord  Roberts  sent  a  message  to  Mafe- 
king  to  say  that  reinforcements  would  be  hurried  as  soon  as  the  relief 
of  Kimberley  had  been  effected.  But  in  the  beginning  of  March  the 
news  was  published  of  the  extreme  distress  into  which  the  gallant 
little  garrison  and  the  patient  population  of  this  town  had  come.  They 
were  now  limited  almost  entirely  to  horseflesh.  Other  food  was  ex- 
tremely scarce  and  could  only  be  doled  out  in  the  smallest  quantities 


THE  INVASION-   OF  CAPE  COLONY.  663 

day  by  day.  The  little  graveyard  received  constantly  its  additions  from 
little  children  and  frail  women  as  well  as  from  brave  soldiers  who  fell. 
Some  of  the  children  died  simply  of  exhaustion,  others  were  killed  by 
shells  which  the  enemy  frequently  sent  into  the  women's  laager;  many 
of  the  natives  who  moved  freely  about  the  town  were  also  shot.  Alto- 
gether the  prospect  was  dreary  and  oppressive;  even  the  soldiers  were 
now  on  such  short  rations  that  physical  energy  had  to  be  husbanded 
with  the  utmost  care.  The  day  of  aggressive  and  lively  sorties  was  past, 
the  utmost  that  could  be  hoped  for  being  that  they  would  have  force 
enough  to  resist  a  direct  attack  of  the  enemy. 


